
Glass i—n <^%3 

Book * n & 



SMITHSONIAN..DEPOSIT 



COLUMBIAN HISTORY 



OF 



Education in Kansas 



AN ACCOUNT OF THE PUBLIC-SCHOOL SYSTEM, AN EXPLANATION OF ITS PBACTICAL OP- 
ERATIONS, A BEVIEW OF ITS AUXILIARY TEACHEBS' ASSOCIATIONS, SKETCHES OF 
THE SEVEBAL PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, LOCAL HISTORIES, 
OF THE SCHOOLS BY COUNTIES AND CITIES, AND A BBIEF 
OUTLINE OF THE WOBK ACCOMPLISHED IN PRIVATE 
AND DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 



COMPILED BY KANSAS EDUCATORS 



PUBLISHED UNDEE THE AUSPICES OF THE KANSAS STATE HISTOBICAL SOCIETY, 

FOR THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION, 1893, COMMEMORATING 

THE FOUR HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 



TOPEKA. 

PRESS OF THE HAMILTON PRINTING COMPANY: 

Edwin H. Snow, State Printer. 

1893. 



preface* 



In these days, it would take a great deal of courage to let a book get be- 
fore the public without prefatory meandering, introductory irrelevancy, or, 
as Horace Greeley puts it, "preliminary egotism," of some sort. Looking 
over the great histories of the world, one often learns how thankful the his- 
torian is when he finds in the moldering recesses of some library a collection 
of facts, dug up and placed compactly on printed pages for him by some 
unobtrusive, industrious pioneer of a bygone century; so it is hoped and 
believed the unpretentious compilation of facts and figures found in this vol- 
ume may cheer the heart and lighten the labor of more than one Kansas his- 
torian, in the centuries to come. 

In the book which these few lines introduces to the public, the purpose 
has been to give, in the most concise form, the essential facts in our educa- 
tional history; important dates and statistics; brief biographies; the rise and 
progress of the University and colleges, public aud private; the beginning 
and development of teachers' associations and institutes; and a synopsis of 
the Kansas public school system. 

While the preparing of the history has been under the general supervi- 
sion of the Board of Directors for the Kansas Educational Exhibit, it 
should be said here that all the details of the work have been in charge of 
L. C. Wooster, Superintendent of the Kansas Educational Exhibit. To his 
conscientious accuracy and incessant industry is due the fact that so much 
valuable material has been collected in this book. If every county in the 
State is not represented, it is not Mr. Wooster's fault ; he sent out line upon 
line, precept upon precept, to county and city superintendents, and to all 
others who were the custodians of educational records, and waited until the 
eleventh, and even far into the twelfth, hour for returns. As it is, there are 
histories, more or less complete, from 40 counties and 22 cities. 

The History will form part of the Kansas Educational Exhibit at the 
Columbian Exposition, and hundreds of copies will be sent to other States 
and to foreign lands, in exchange for other books of a like kind ; thus, the 



iv Preface. 

excellences of the Kansas schools will be proclaimed abroad in the isles of 
the sea and to the uttermost parts of the earth. 

For the next international exposition, wherever it may be, there should 
be prepared a new edition of this book ; the county and city histories now 
missing should be added, and all inaccuracies discoverable should be cor- 
rected. The coming editor, in the larger light of the twentieth century, will 
it is trusted, regard with charity not unmixed with gratitude the humble ef- 
forts of his predecessors. They have done their best and utmost with the 
materials at their command, and now let the Kansas Educational History go 

forth on its mission, speaking everywhere for itself. 

J. M. D. 

Topeka, May, 1893. 



Gable of Contenta* 



PAGE. 

Histoby and Value oe the Educational Exhibit Movement, 1 

State Supebintendents op Public Insteuotion : 

Territorial Superintendents, . . 5 

State Superintendents, 6 

The Kansas Public Schools : 

Elementary divisions of the system, 16 

Powers of school districts, 17 

How schools are sustained, 19 

School sites and buildings, 20 

Text-books, 21 

County supervision, 21 

State supervision, 22 

The licensing of teachers, 22 

The training of teachers, 24 

Teachers' associations in Kansas, 29 

Graded schools, 37 

County high schools, 39 

Minimum school requirements, 40 

General remarks, 40 

Statistics, 41 

Public Schools of Highee Gbade : 
Secondary Schools: 

Atchison county high school, 44 

Dickinson county high school, 45 

Labette county high school, 47 

Higher Institutions: 

The University of Kansas, 48 

The State Normal School, 52 

The State Agricultural College, 55 

Special Public Schools : 

Soldiers' Orphans' Home, 62 

Asylum for Idiotic and Imbecile Youth, 63 

Institution for Education of the Deaf and Dumb, 64 

Industrial School for Girls, 67 

State Reform School, 68 

Institution for the Education of the Blind, 71 

Peivate Noemal Schools : . . 74 

Kansas Normal College, 76 

Campbell University, 77 

Salin'a Normal University, 78 

Central Normal College," ,, . 78 

(v) 



vi Table of Contents. 

Denominational Schools : page. 

Baptists, 82 

Christians, 82 

Catholics, 83 

Congregationalists, 83 

Episcopalians, 85 

Friends, 86 

German Reformed, 86 

German Baptists (Dunkards), 87 

Independents, 87 

Evangelical Lutheran, . . 88 

German Lutheran, 88 

Swedish Lutheran, 89 

Mennonites, 90 

Methodists, 90 

Presbyterians, 91 

United Presbyterians, 94 

United Brethren, 94 

Business Schools^ . 96 

hlstoet and geowth of schools, by counties : 

Atchison county — Atchison city, 98 

Bourbon county — Fort Scott, 100 

Brown county — Hiawatha Academy, 102 

Butler county, 103 

Clark county, 105 

Cloud county, 107 

Coffey county, 110 

Cowley county, Ill 

Arkansas City, 112 

Winfield, 113 

Southwest Kansas College, 115 

Crawford county — Pittsburg, 115 

Decatur county, 117 

Dickinson county, 118 

Abilene, 120 

Mount St. Joseph's Academy, 121 

German schools, 121 

Central College, 121 

Doniphan county, 123 

Douglas county, 128 

Lawrence, 130 

Hesper Academy, 133 

Ford county, ., 134 

Geary [Davis] county, 136 

Greenwood county, 138 

Eureka, 140 

Southern Kansas Academy, 141 

Jewell county — Mankato, 142 

Labette county — Parsons, 143 

Leavenworth county — Leavenworth, 146 

Lincoln county, 149 

Kansas Christian College, 151 



Table of Contents. vii 

Histoey and Gbowth of Schools, by Counties — Concluded: page. 

Lyon county — Emporia, 151 

Marion county, 153 

City schools, 155 

McPherson county, 156 

Mitchell county, . . 163 

Denominational schools, 165 

Nemaha county, 169 

Neosho county, 175 

Norton county, 177 

Norton city 179 

Lenora, 179 

Almena 180 

Pratt county 181 

Pratt city, 181 

Southwestern Business College, 182 

Baptist college, 182 

Reno county 182 

Rice county 186 

Cooper Memorial College, 188 

Riley county — Manhattan, ■ . ■ 190 

Rooks county, 192 

Stockton Academy, 192 

Saline county, 194 

Salina, 195 

* St. John's Military School, 196 

Scott county, 198 

Sedgwick county — Wichita, 199 

Western School of Elocution and Oratory, 201 

Central Memorial University, 201 

Wichita University, 201 

All Hallows Academy, 202 

Shawnee county, 203 

Washburn College, 208 

Sumner county, 214 

Wellington, 218 

Wabaunsee county, 223 

Washington county, 225 

Wyandotte county, 228 



list of Mlustrations* 



Buildings: page. 

State University, Lawrence, 48 

State Normal School, Emporia, 52 

State Agricultural College, Manhattan, 56 

School for Deaf and Dumb, Olathe, 64 

State Reform School, Topeka, 68 

High-school building, Hutchinson, 182 

Saint John's Military School, Salina, 196 

First schoolhouse in Wichita, 199 

Washburn College, Topeka, 208 

First schoolhouse in Sumner county, 216 

School building, Oxford, 216 

Third-ward school building, Wellington, 218 

Fourth-ward school building, Wellington, 220 

Poeteaits: 

Isaac T. Goodnow, ex-State Superintendent, 6 

Peter McVicar, ex-State Superintendent, 8 

Geo. W. Winans, ex-State Superintendent, 12 

H. N. Gaines, State Superintendent, 1893, 14 

F. H. Snow, chancellor State University, 16 

Geo. T. Fairchild, president State Agricultural College, 20 

A. R. Taylor, president State Normal School, •. . 24 

John MacDonald, editor Western School Journal, 28 

Dickinson county superintendents (group), 118 

Samuel Kuthruff. E. W. Bradfield. William Frost. William Kamsey. 

Cyrus Kilgore. D. K. Emery. D. W. Wilson. A. M. Crary. 

D. D. Hornaday. J. S. Ford. A. C. Van Dyke. D. F. Shirk. 

J. E. Klock, superintendent, Leavenworth, 130 

Ed. Stanley, superintendent, Lawrence, 130 

W. H. Wright, county superintendent Shawnee county, 130 

D. E. Sanders, president Normal College, Fort Scott, 130 

C. P. Dawson, county superintendent Reno county, . 182 

S. W. Hill, Hutchinson, 182 

Josiah Jordan, Topeka, 204 

Jno. A. McLain, superintendent, Wellington, 214 

Geo. H. Hunter, Wellington, 214 

(viii) 



Ibistori? anMDalue of tbe Educational JExbibit 

flDovement* 



"y\ T its holiday meeting in 1890, the State Teachers' Association appointed 
•*■ ^- the following-named persons as a committee to devise plans and super- 
vise an educational exhibit for the State of Kansas, at the Columbian Ex- 
position in Chicago, in 1893: J. M. Bloss, superintendent of Topeka city 
schools; G. W. Winans, State Superintendent of Public Instruction; A. E. 
Taylor, president of State Normal School ; G. T. Fairchild, president of State 
Agricultural College; F. H. Snow, chancellor of State University; W. A. 
Quayle, president of Baker University ; R. W. Stevenson, superintendent of 
Wichita city schools ; D. E. Sanders, president of Kansas Normal College ; 
Florence Dickinson, superintendent of Wabaunsee county schools; Mary E. 
Hopper, superintendent of Finney county schools. 

At the meeting of the Association of City Superintendents, in the spring 
following, J. M. Bloss, superintendent of Topeka city schools; E. Stanley, 
superintendent of Lawrence city schools ; C. Y. Roop, superintendent of Sa- 
lina city schools ; D. R. Boyd, superintendent of Arkansas City schools, and 
J. E. Klock, superintendent of Leavenworth city schools, were appointed as 
a committee for a similar purpose. The two committees held an informal 
meeting at the Whitley hotel, in Emporia, early in the fall, and agreed to 
merge themselves into one general committee. Supt. J. M. Bloss was elected 
chairman, and Pres. A. R. Taylor, secretary. The committee adjourned to 
meet at Newton during the Thanksgiving week. Little was formally accom- 
plished until the meeting of the committee in December, 1891. It was then 
decided to organize under the title of "The Board of Directors for the Kan- 
sas Educational Exhibit," a charter was secured, and the following officers 
were elected: J. M. Bloss, president; A. R. Taylor, secretary; G. T. Fair- 
child, treasurer. 

The department of county superintendence of the State Teachers' Associ- 
ation was empowered and requested to appoint two additional members of 
the board, and responded, naming Supt. J. E. Peairs, of Douglas county, and 
Supt. A. W. Leech, of Linn county. The following committees were ap- 
pointed: Executive — Messrs. Winans, Taylor, and Fairchild. Finance — 
Messrs. Winans, Leech, Quayle, and Stanley. Exhibit — Messrs. Bloss, Tay- 

* By A. R. Taylob, president of the State Normal School, Emporia. 



2 History of Education in Kansas. 

lor, Boyd, Sanders, and Peairs. Publication — Messrs. Roop, Winans, Fair- 
child, and Taylor. 

A full report of the proceedings and plans of the board was made to the 
State Teachers' Association, which gave its hearty approval, and appropri- 
ated £200 to inaugurate the work proposed. To meet the expenses of the 
exhibit, the finance committee was authorized to call upon the schools in 
the State to contribute not less than 5 cents per pupil, and at this date nearly 
$6,000 have been paid to the treasurer of the board. In May, 1892, Super- 
intendent Bloss was called to the presidency ofthe Oregon State Agricultural 
College, and State Superintendent Winans was elected president of the board. 
Pres. A. R. Taylor was appointed chairman of the committee on exhibit, 
and Supt. J. E. Klock was added to the same committee. On June 1, 1892, 
Prof. L. C. Wooster assumed the duties of superintendent of the exhibit, and 
since then he has devoted all his time to soliciting funds and working up de- 
tails. Whatever there may be of excellence in the exhibit is due in large 
measure to his intelligent direction and untiring effort. In the summer of 
1892, Supt. D. R. Boyd was called to the presidency of Oklahoma University, 
and Supt. R. W. Stevenson to a business position in Ohio, and their places 
were filled by the appointment of John MacDonald, editor of the Western 
School Journal, and A. S. Olin, superintendent of Kansas City (Kas.) schools ; 
and W. M. Davidson, superintendent of Topeka city schools, and H. N. 
Gaines, the new State Superintendent, were added. All these changes and 
additions were made at the last holiday meeting of the State Teachers' Asso- 
ciation. 

The principal consideration prompting the educators of Kansas to the 
preparation of an exhibit of the work of the Kansas schools in cooperation 
and conrparison with that of the schools in our sister States has been, that it 
will awaken a local State pride which will arouse increased activity on the 
part of all connected with our schools. The district schools of Kansas as a 
whole compare favorably with those of the Eastern and Middle States, and, 
as their work is placed side by side, there will be reason for a little encour- 
aging self-congratulation. 

It will stimulate increased interest on the part of every pupil. The fact 
that his school and his work will compete for recognition by the State board, 
and by the great throngs that will visit the World's Fair, will spur him to 
unusual effort during the entire autumn. 

It will awaken more interest in the graphic arts — drawing, penmanship, 
draughting, etc. Along with them, it will beget habits of accuracy, neatness, 
and attention to details, whose value will be far reaching. The consciousness 
of the fact that the work will come under the eye of such criticism will be a 
wholesome incentive to painstaking effort. The value of drawing and its 
general effect upon the tastes and character of the young people, the progress 
that can be made by a few months' intelligent and persistent practice with 
the pen, enforced by the satisfaction that an attractive and tasty exhibit will 
bring, cannot fail to teach their own lessons. 



The Educational Exhibit Movement. 3 

It will enable us to discover the defects in our work. The board asked 
that certain lines be presented. Many schools have been surprised to find 
that they would blush to have the outside world see much of the work they 
have been doing. As their improved work is compared with that of other 
schools in and outside the State, they will discover that much which they 
supposed excellent is very ordinary, and that much which they thought about 
perfect is being completely eclipsed by less favored schools than their own. 
This awakening from the sleep of well enough will be a great gain to us. 

It will show us the possibilities of the public schools as we have not yet 
seen them. Many of us have never been called upon to exert our strength, 
and hardly know what our resources are. We may have been doing a little 
better than our predecessors or our immediate neighbors, but have been con- 
tent with that. We have known little outside our home county. Now we. 
are to see what the bright schoolmasters of a continent can do under the im- 
petus of a great occasion. 

It will enable our patrons to understand what we are accomplishing in 
these latter days. We hear much of the wisdom of the schoolmaster in that 
earlier day, and ought to improve this opportunity to show what progress we 
are making. We have the attention of the world as never before, and it is 
our own fault if we fail to profit by it. 

It will give meritorious teachers a chance to show what they are doing, 
and will secure them corresponding recognition. There are thousands of 
teachers who are working successfully in quiet fields and who are unknown 
to the profession in general. They deserve recognition and promotion, but 
lack acquaintance. This is their opportunity. If they are wise, they will 
improve it. This acquaintance and appreciation will not come simply to in- 
dividuals, but the entire profession will rise in the estimation of our citizens, 
and we shall reap corresponding benefits therefrom. 

It will enable us to see and to study the results of the various movements 
of the last few years in educational work. The effect of the grading of rural 
schools, of the introduction of manual training, of the professional training 
of teachers, of longer terms of school, of changes in methods of teaching lan- 
guage and the natural sciences, together with many other questions, will re- 
ceive most careful attention from every student of the great exhibit. 

It has brought the Kansas schools and the Kansas school workers more 
nearly together. It has given them a better understanding of their needs, 
and has enabled them to cooperate more readily one with another. As a re- 
sult, we shall see a forward movement in many places, standards will be ad- 
vanced, courses of study will be extended, better facilities will be provided, 
and a more hopeful spirit fill every schoolroom in the State. 

These benefits will be permanent. All know the stimulating effect of the 
Centennial Exposition of 1876 on every branch of industry in our country. 
There was no occupation or profession which was not benefited by it. To it 
must be attributed in great measure the marvelous activity and growth of 



4 History of Education in Kansas. 

the United States during the past 16 years. We may expect even more from 
the Columbian Exposition. 

In connection with all this, there will be an increased interest in the study 
of history, and particularly in the study of American history, which the prep- 
aration of this exhibit will indirectly beget. Our magazines have been teem- 
ing with fresh and instructive articles on Columbus and his times. The old 
story has been made new by many a master hand, and this fairest gem in the 
crown of Columbus now becomes the center of attraction, the object of study 
of the schoolboy, the servant, the peasant, and the king. Out of this study 
of our origin, our development, our institutions, our resources, our responsi- 
bilities, must come a more intelligent citizenship, a more disinterested patri- 
otism. 

From no part of the educational work do we expect more lasting benefit 
than from this volume into which goes a condensed history of the school sys- 
tem of the State, including county and city organizations and the various 
higher institutions of learning, whether State, denominational or private 
enterprises. It has been our purpose to put into permanent form for pres- 
ervation, as well as for present representation, such facts concerning the es- 
tablishment, growth and improvement of the Kansas schools as may give a 
just conception of their 'wonderful development in a single generation of peo- 
ple. We doubt whether, all things considered, there is anything like it in 
all history. Now, while so many people are still living who saw the begin- 
nings of things in this fair commonwealth, is the opportune time for starting 
history aright. 

We have striven with great persistence to secure data from every county 
in the State, and where there may be lack the school authorities are responsi- 
ble. There may be much in these pages which, to the average reader, pos- 
sesses little interest, but the locale — the personality — of every chapter will 
give it significance to many, and the recognition accorded will comfort many 
a soul, whose best years were sacrificed to the education of our youth and to 
the upbuilding of our great educational institutions. Here the student of 
Kansas history will find the forces which have played a great share in shap- 
ing our State's destiny; here the future historian will rejoice to discover his 
story so well begun ; and here, we trust, many may receive that hope and 
encouragement which will insure great things, of which these are but the 
prophecy. 

To the many friends throughout the State who have so generously coop- 
erated with us in the effort to make our exhibit worthy of Kansas and its 
schools, we tender our heartfelt gratitude, and indulge the hope that they 
have long since felt amply repaid for their interest and devotion. 



State Superintendents of public flnstructioiv 



TERRITORIAL SUPERINTENDENTS. 

^ I ^ HE first territorial Legislature, after meeting at the town of Pawnee, 
-*- near Fort Riley, adjourned to hold its principal session at the Shawnee 
Mission Labor School, in Johnson county, in July, 1855. It passed the first 
body of laws for the government of Kansas. Owing to the political condi- 
tions, but little was ever done in the administration of the laws enacted by 
this Legislature. The same may be said in respect to the laws passed by the 
Legislature which held its session at Lecompton, in January, 1857. Neither 
of these Legislatures provided for a Territorial School Superintendent. These 
were Pro-Slavery Legislatures. The first Free-State Legislature, which held 
its principal session at Lawrence, by act approved February 12, 1858, cre- 
ated the office of "Territorial Superintendent of Common Schools." On the 
same day, James H. Noteware was appointed by the Governor and con- 
firmed by the Council as Superintendent, to enter upon his duties March 1, 
1858. Mr. Note ware does not appear to have made any report. 

Samuel Wiley Greer was elected Territorial Superintendent of Public 
Schools October 4, 1858, and entered upon the duties of the office Decem- 
ber 1 following, serving until January, 1861. 

Mr. Greer was born in Alleghany county, Pennsylvania, near West New- 
ton, June 2, 1826, and died in Winfield, Kas., September 30, 1882. Mr. 
Greer settled in Leavenworth, Kas., in October, 1856. For a few months in 
1857, he lived at Geary City, in Doniphan county, then a brisk new town 
established by Leavenworth people. His son, Hon. Ed. P. Greer, of Win- 
field, was born at Geary City. During his entire service as Superintendent 
of Public Instruction, he resided at Leavenworth, and kept the Superintend- 
ent's office there. 

During his term of office he issued reports for the years 1858, 1859, and 
1860. These reports show great attention to the duties of his office. He 
may be said to have initiated the work of Kansas educational superintend- 
ency. Of his predecessor he says, that he had been unable to obtain any 
official information of his acts, only that he had recommended certain text- 
books. 

In his first report, made January 16, 1859, Mr. Greer stated, that of the 

* By Hon. F. G. Adams, secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society. 

(5) 



6 History of Education in Kansas. 

county superintendents only one, the Leavenworth county superintendent, 
had reported, as required by law. In this county 28 school districts had 
been organized. A partial report from Atchison county showed 18 school 
districts. His second report, made December 31, 1859, showed reports from 
15 counties. Schools had been taught in 136 districts. The number of chil- 
dren reported of school age was 7,029. By act of the Legislature of 1860, 
the office of county superintendent was abolished ; hence the Territorial Su- 
perintendent had received official information as to the condition of schools 
from seven counties only. From the reports received, Mr. Greer estimated 
that there were, at the time of his report, December 31, 1860, as many as 
480 organized school districts, and 24,000 school children in the Territory. 

Mr. Greer traveled extensively over the Territory, visiting many of the 
counties, holding public meetings, and encouraging the people to organize 
school districts and to establish schools. This was at a time when there were 
no railroads in Kansas. Traveling was expensive and tedious. In his re- 
ports he recommended school libraries, the holding of teachers' institutes, and 
the establishment of normal schools, seminaries, and colleges. He makes 
mention of such of the higher schools of learning as had been already estab- 
lished. 

John C. Douglass was the third Superintendent of Common Schools. 
He was elected to that office in November, 1860, and qualified January 2, 
1861. He entered upon his duties January 7. His office expired the follow- 
ing month, upon the organization of the State government at Topeka. Mr. 
Douglass was born at Greenfield, Highland county, Ohio, December 13, 1824, 
and settled in Leavenworth in November, 1856, where he still resides. 



STATE SUPERINTENDENTS. 

William Kiley Griffith was elected first State Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, taking his office in February, 1861. He served until his 
death, at Topeka, February 12, 1862, having published the report for 1861. 
Mr. Griffith was born in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, May 8, 1820, and set- 
tled in Bourbon county, near Fort £?cott, Kas., June 3, 1855. He was an 
invalid during the greater part of his short incumbency of the office. His 
report for 1861 shows that 12 county superintendents had made reports, some 
of them so meager and incomplete that the State Superintendent did not com- 
pile the statistics. But few of these 12 counties had been fully organized 
into school districts. Mr. Griffith reported that the 500,000 acres of land 
granted under the act of Congress of 1841 had been selected by commission- 
ers appointed by the Governor; also 46,080 acres granted for the support of 
the State University. 




ISAAC T. GOODNOW, 

MANHATTAN, 

Pioneer in the cause of education in Kansas, and State Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, from 1863 to 1867. 



State Superintendents — 1862-67. 7 

Simeon M. Thorp was appointed by Governor Robinson, March 28, 1862, 
to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Superintendent Griffith. The 
term ended January, 1863. He published the report for 1862. Mr. Thorp 
was killed at the Lawrence massacre — Quantrill's raid — August 21, 1863. 
At the time of his death he was State Senator for Douglas county. Mr. 
Thorp's report for 1862 contains the reports received from 20 county super- 
intendents, showing that 304 school districts had been organized, that there 
were 14,976 school children, and that the school taxes amounted to $19,289. 
The text-books recommended were McGuffey's readers, Cornell's geographies, 
Ray's arithmetics, and Pinneo's grammar. 

Isaac T. Goodnow was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction for 
the two terms commencing January 12, 1863, and ending January, 1867. 
Mr. Goodnow was born at Whittingham, Windham county, Vermont, Janu- 
ary 17, 1814. He had been engaged in educational work in New England 
for 20 years previous to coming to Kansas. For the last seven years of this 
period he held a professorship in Providence Seminary, East Greenwich, R. I. 
He came to Kansas March 24, 1855. Professor Goodnow was one of the found- 
ers of the city of Manhattan, of Bluemont College, and of the State Agricul- 
tural College. As State Superintendent of Public Instruction, he entered 
upon his work with great zeal and with eminent qualifications. From the 
nature of the circumstances attending the brief terms of his predecessors, com- 
paratively little work had been done in the office. Professor Goodnow vis- 
ited all the counties, lectured upon education, held teachers' meetings and 
institutes, encouraged the opening of schools, and stimulated advanced meth- 
ods of education. With jealous care, he checked unwise legislation tending 
to dissipate and squander the landed foundation of the State school funds. 
He made reports for the years 1863, 1864, 1865, 1866. His first report shows 
that he had visited 29 counties, traveled over 4,000 miles, and lectured in log 
cabins, schoolhouses, court rooms, and churches, from one to four times in 
each county. His report makes elaborate recommendations in regard to the 
size and form of school districts, the character and construction of school- 
houses, the need of care in the selection of school officers and school superin- 
tendents, and the importance of stimulating the education of teachers through 
teachers' institutes, teachers' associations, and normal schools. He gives re- 
ports of the State Agricultural College and State University, and makes rec- 
ommendations for the amendment of school laws. 

In his report for 1864, Mr. Goodnow shows that, notwithstanding the hin- 
drances to progress in Kansas by the distractions of the war, the number of 
school districts in the State had increased from 705 to 823, and the number 
of school children from 26,000 to 37,000. In view of the general educational 
prosperity, he exultingly remarks : 

While we can glory in the achievements of our soldiers upon the battle field, and 
of our citizens at home amid their peaceful labors in the school district, other States 



8 History of Education in Kansas. 

will not envy! Our glory is their glory! What is Kansas but the representative ele- 
ment of all the other States, drawn together to make it another name for freedom — 
a bulwark against the farther extension of slavery, a grand rallying point for free 
speech, free men, and free schools! 

In addition to his tour of travel through the State, he had cooperated with 
the county superintendents wherever possible in holding teachers' institutes, 
in accordance with the law providing for the holding of institutes in each 
central district. He discussed the subject of denominational colleges, and 
presented elaborate reasons why, in a new State, all religious people should 
unite in an effort to build up a State university, a State agricultural college, 
and a normal school, rather than to encourage weak denominational schools. 
He argued in favor of the employment of women as teachers, and in favor of 
school gymnastics. He congratulated the State that a prudent law had been 
passed by the Legislature for the sale of school lands, providing that they 
should not be sold for less than $3 per acre, and that no sale could be had 
except upon petition of 20 householders of the township. 

Tn his report for 1865, he stated that during the year he had visited 35 
counties, four more than ever before, and that the people everywhere mani- 
fested an increasing interest in the education of their children. Hotel prices 
had not diminished, but 'had rather increased, and his traveling expenses had 
exceeded the amount of the $500 appropriation given him for that object. 
Teachers' institutes had been held in Leavenworth, Doniphan, Brown, Ne- 
maha, Marshall, Douglas, Johnson, Miami, Shawnee, Lyon, and Jefferson 
counties. He urged the raising of the pay of county superintendents above 
the $3 per day fixed by law, so that it would be something more than that 
officer's horse and buggy hire. New schools had sprung up during the year 
as if by magic — many of them occupying school buildings. The number of 
school-teachers in the State had increased to 899. The reports of the State 
University, State Agricultural College, and State Normal School are con- 
tained in this report. The Normal School had 43 students, the State Agri- 
cultural College 113, and the State University expected to be opened early 
the next spring, with two professors. 

Mr. Goodnow's report for 1866 shows an increase of school children from 
45,000 to 54,000, and the number of school districts from 721 to 871; the 
number of school-teachers, from 899 to 1,086. As he is now to go out of 
office, he urges the increase of the Superintendent's salary from $1,200, now 
paid, to at least $2,000, also the employment of an assistant superintendent. 
Teachers' institutes had been held in many counties, and in one county, Jef- 
ferson, Prof. R. K. McCartney had held a "six- weeks institute." He calls 
attention to the recommendation of county superintendents J. M. Rankin and 
J. H. Banister, that provision be made for the pay of instructors in teachers* 
institutes. He urges uniformity in school books, a revision of the school laws, 
the compelling of school districts to use the text-books officially recommended, 
the employment of a deputy State Superintendent, the making of the office of 
county superintendent in the populous counties a salaried office, a change in 




PETER McVICAR, 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1867 to 1871, and at present 

President of Washburn College, Topeka. 



State Superintendents — 1867-71. 9 

the law for the issuing of bonds for building schoolhouses, and the repeal of 
the law limiting taxes in school districts. 

Peter McVicar, LL. D., was elected Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion for two terms — January, 1867, to January, 1871. Doctor McVicar was 
born in St. George, N. B., and was educated for the ministry. Shortly after 
finishing his course, he came to Kansas, settling in Topeka in October, 1860. 
He entered upon the duties of the Superintendent's office with educational 
qualifications of a superior order, with broad views as to educational work 
and methods, and with a zealous interest in educational progress in Kansas. 

He made four reports, for the years 1867 to 1870, inclusive. In his first 
report, for the year 1867, he showed that there had been during the year an 
increase of 186 school districts, 119 teachers, and 8,110 school children. He 
had traveled 3,000 miles, visited nearly all the counties once, and some of 
them twice. The tide of immigration since the war had increased the number 
of counties, and had largely increased the educational work. The value of 
schoolhouses in the one year had been increased to $154,000. Many elegant 
and commodious schoolhouses had been built. The character of school 
architecture had greatly improved. Twenty county institutes had been held 
during the year. He urged that provision should be made for the pay of in- 
structors at teachers' institutes. He commended the admirable system which 
the State had adopted for the disbursement of the State school fund. He 
urged the repeal of the law by which the State school commissioners were au- 
thorized to loan the permanent school fund to private individuals, and rec- 
ommended that the investment should be confined to State bonds. 

Doctor McVicar called the attention of the Legislature to the need of leg- 
islative action in order to save to the State the amount of public lands to 
which it was entitled for school purposes, namely, lands in lieu of school 
lands, sections 16 and 36, preempted before the public surveys were made, 
and lands lost to the State by the preoccupancy of Indian reservations. Of 
the former class he showed that 7,404 acres had been abstracted from the 
State, and of the latter class the enormous area of 159,269 acres, distributed 
over 12 different Indian reservations. Added to this, the Superintendent in- 
sisted upon the right of the State to school lands upon the bodies of Indian 
trust lands as they existed at the time of the opening of the Territory to settle- 
ment, by this claim increasing the amount of school lands lost to the State, 
or in danger of being lost, to the amount of nearly a half million acres. The 
Superintendent had learned from an investigation of the subject that, by 
precedents established in the allotment of lands by the United States Gov- 
ernment to other States, our State ought to recover such lands. 

In his report for 1868, he showed an increase of 13,240 school children in 
the State, and an increase of 3,611 schools. He urged again the employ- 
ment of an assistant State Superintendent. He called attention to the need 
of protection of colored children in school privileges. The only course worthy 



10 History of Education in Kansas. 

of a free people, lie declared, is to give every child, be he white or black, 
rich or poor, a free and equal chance in life, and then let him work out his 
own destiny. The permanent school fund he reported as being invested in 
State and United States bonds, as required by law. He gave the history 
of the alienation of the 500,000 acres of land under the act of Congress of 
1841, which had been, by the ordinance of the State constitution, dedicated 
to the State school fund, and which, by the Legislature of 1866, had been 
given to certain railroads. Proceedings had been begun to recover the lands 
for the benefit of the schools. He gave a history of his successful effort in 
saving to the State 500,000 acres from the rich body of lands of the Osage 
Indian reservation. Had it not been for his presence at the making of the 
treaty at Drum Creek, in 1868, and his visit to Washington to influence the 
action of our Senators and Representatives in Congress, these lands would 
have been given to railroad companies. He had also recovered to the State 
a large area of lands in lieu of sections 16 and 36 which had been settled 
upon before the surveys. 

He gave an account of the establishment of the Kansas Educational Jour- 
nal. He made 11 recommendations for amendments to the school laws. His 
report embraces reports of the State University, State Agricultural College, 
State Normal School, Blind Asylum, Insane Asylum, Deaf and Dumb Asylum, 
and of eight denominational schools. Many recommendations are made in re- 
spect to graded schools, the conduct of primary schools, age of admission, 
suitable seating, word method, map drawing, history and constitution of the 
United States, architecture, ventilation, arrangement of school grounds, etc. 
A full account is given of the conduct of teachers' institutes during the year. 

Doctor McVicar's report for 1869 shows an increase during the year of 
335 school districts, of 11,367 school children, and of 260 in the number of 
schoolhouses. He again makes a plea in behalf of the education of the col- 
ored children, repeats recommendations before made as to the organization 
and conduct of the schools, and adds many other suggestions. He recom- 
mends the establishment of a State board of examiners, gives a lengthy ac- 
count of progress made in the endeavor to recover to the State the alienated 
500,000 acres of school lands, recommends the establishment of additional 
normal schools, and the consolidation of the State University and State Ag- 
ricultural College. The usual reports of the State educational institutions are 
given. The proceedings of the State Teachers' Association, at Manhattan, 
June 29, 1869, are contained in this report. 

In his report for 1870, Doctor McVicar shows an increase of 361 school 
districts and 16,727 school children. He had introduced a system of record 
books for school-district officers. He urges the establishment of school-district 
libraries, under the law of the last Legislature. He approves of giving State 
aid to the Kansas Educational Journal. Much space is given to the state- 
ment of the condition of the school funds, of the management of the sales of 
school lands, and efforts made for the recovery of alienated school lands. An 



State Superintendents — 1871-75. 11 

account is given of the establishment of the Leavenworth normal school, and 
of the success of the work of teachers' institutes. The reports of the State 
educational institutions are given. 

Having given at some length particular statements as to what the reports 
of the earlier State Superintendents of Public Instruction show as to stages 
of growth in the schools of the State, it is not necessary for the scope and pur- 
pose of this paper to go so much into detail in the mention of the work of the 
later Superintendents. Our school system had now become well matured, un- 
der wise laws, administered by able incumbents of this office. 

Hugh De France McCarty, LL. D., became State Superintendent in 
January, 1871, and held the office for two terms, ending January, 1875. 
Doctor McCarty was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, March 9, 
1822, and settled in Leavenworth, Kas., in the spring of 1857. He was one 
of the founders and the first editor of the Kansas Educational Journal, the 
publication of which began in January, 1864 — the first Kansas educational 
paper. He was also one of the organizers of the Kansas State Teachers' As- 
sociation, in 1863. At the time of his death, at Highland, September 12, 
1887, he was professor of mathematics and vice president of Highland Uni- 
versity, and lecturer in the medical college at St. Joseph, Mo. 

He published four reports, 1871 to 1874, inclusive. In his report for the 
year 1871, Doctor McCarty gives the usual statistics, showing the increase in 
the schools of the State. He recommends the establishment of a course of 
study and the classification of the district schools. He gives a lengthy 
statement of the course of study recommended, and a list of the text-books 
needed. His report treats of school management, women as teachers, hours 
of study, uniformity of text-books, compulsory education, a township district 
system, and the subject of compensation of superintendents. His treatment 
of compulsory education is expanded to the dignity of an essay on that im- 
portant subject. A full statement is given of the condition of the school 
funds. The usual reports of county superintendents and of the various edu- 
cational institutions of the State are also contained in the report. 

Doctor McCarty, in his report for 1872, gives a lengthy argument in favor 
of a graded school system. He recommends the establishment of a State 
board of education, urges uniformity of text-books, and gives another essay 
on the subject of compulsory education. The subjects of a reform school, 
teachers' visitations and the grading of common schools are also treated of. 
A full explanation of the course of study for public schools is presented. 

A peculiarity of Doctor McCarty's reports is, that they contain an elabo- 
rate treatment of certain educational topics. The report for 1873 has a full 
paper on the county superintendency, the duties and importance of the office, 
and the experience and testimony of eminent educators on the subject. 
County teachers' institutes are also discussed at length in this report ; also, 
the subject of women as teachers, that of drawing in schools, and of the town- 
ship school system. 



12 History of Education in Kansas. 

In his report for 1874, bookkeeping, uniform examinations and compara- 
tive cost of education in the different States and Territories are among the 
subjects. An account of the establishment of the Concordia Normal School 



John Fraser was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1874, 
and served for the two years ending January, 1877. During this period he 
published the reports for 1875 and 1876. General Fraser was born at Crom- 
arty, Scotland, March 22, 1827. He studied in the University of Edinburgh, 
and afterwards in the University of Aberdeen, where he graduated in 1844. 
He was for a time a teacher in Bermuda, West Indies. He became a pro- 
fessor of mathematics and astronomy in Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 
1855. He raised the 140th regiment of Pennsylvania volunteers, and en- 
tered the army in its command in 1862. He served through the war, and 
was engaged in the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and a dozen other 
battles. He was for a time in Andersonville and Columbia, S. C, prisons. 
Released from an imprisonment of seven months, he was restored to his com- 
mand, and at the close of the war was promoted to the rank of brigadier gen- 
eral. He became ^president of the Pennslvania State Agricultural College, 
at Bellefonte. He rernoved to Kansas in 1868 to become chancellor of the 
State University, Lawrence. He held this position until the spring of 1874, 
during which time, owing to his energetic services, the main University build- 
ing was erected and the usefulness of the institution greatly increased. He 
died in Allegheny City, Pa., June 4, 1878. 

General Fraser's first report, that for 1 875, mentions the amendment of the 
school law by act of 1874, prescribing the subjects to be taught in the public 
schools, including the natural sciences, the elements of bookkeeping and in- 
dustrial drawing. He expressed a hearty sympathy with the advance in the 
scope of common-school education contemplated in this act. In view of the 
approaching centennial celebration, at Philadelphia in 1876, General Fraser 
presented a lengthy recommendation as to the action which Kansas should 
take in the national educational exhibit. 

In his report for 1876, he mentions examinations of teachers by the State 
Board of Education, at Manhattan, at Emporia, at Topeka, and at Lawrence, 
and gives a brief report of the meeting of the State Teachers' Association, at 
Valley Falls; also gives a calendar of the teachers' institutes in the 15 judi- 
cial districts, showing sessions in each district of four days, except in one, 
which was confined to three days. He mentions the closing of the State 
Normal Schools at Leavenworth and Concordia, by reason of lack of appro- 
priations by the Legislature. He recommends a uniform system of county 
normal institutes to be held annually in each county, and an annual appro- 
priation to be made by the State for their support. 

Allen Borsley Lemmon was twice elected Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, serving from January, 1877, to January, 1881. Mr. Lemmon 




GEO. W. WINANS, 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

1889 to 1893. 



State Superintendents — 1877-81. 13 

was born at Freeport, Ohio, August 21, 1847, and settled at Winfield, Kas., 
in the spring of 1871. He represented Cowley county in the Legislature of 
1881-83. In 1885, he was appointed regent of the State Agricultural Col- 
lege for the term ending April 1, 1888. He is now living at Santa Rosa, 
Cal., engaged in the newspaper business. He has been president of the Cali- 
fornia State Editorial Association. 

During his superintendency he made the first and second biennial reports, 
1877-78, 1879-'80. Mr. Lemmon's first report was the first biennial report 
of the State superintendency, and embraced the work for the school years 
ending July, 1877 and 1878. It contains the usual statistical information, 
a full account of examinations by the State Board of Education, together 
with examination questions. It gives a statement of the collections of school 
work by county superintendents for exhibition at the State Teachers' Asso- 
ciation, at Atchison, in June, 1878. An account of the educational exhibit 
at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1877 is given. A statement of the State 
permanent school fund is made, mentioning, in this connection, the fraudu- 
lent school-bond transaction by State Treasurer Lappin. A historical sketch 
of the State school system is contained in this report; also a biographical 
sketch of Supt. John Fraser. 

Mr. Lemmon's second biennial report, for the years ending July 31, 1879, 
and July 31, 1880, c mtains very full statistical information concerning the 
schools during the two years. Brief reports are given of the meetings of the 
State Teachers' Association, at Lawrence, in June, 1879, and at Topeka, in 
June, 1880. Full reports are given of the proceedings of the State Board 
of Education, and an exhibit of the questions presented in the examination 
of teachers for State certificates. Mention is made of the educational exhibit 
at Paris, and a report is given of the exhibit at the Western National Fair, 
at Bismarck Grove, Lawrence, in September, 1880. A history of the Barton 
county defaulted school bonds is given. An elaborate recommendation is 
given as to the management of the State school lands, and a draft of a pro- 
posed law on the subject is presented in the report. Among the other sub- 
jects mentioned in the report are the text-book law, the State institutions of 
learning, school-fund investment, and schools in unorganized counties. Under 
the head, "The Best System of Schools for the State," is presented a report 
made by the committee appointed at a national convention of school superin- 
tendents, held in Washington in 1878. This report contains maps of the 
counties, with schoolhouses marked thereon, and the school statistics of the 
county in connection therewith. 

During Superintendent Lemmon's first term, our system of Kansas county 
normal institutes was established by the act of the Legislature of 1877, and 
to Mr. Lemmon is largely due the credit, not only of the adoption of this sys- 
tem, but in its having been successfully put into operation at the beginning. 
The previous year legislative appropriations had been wholly withheld from 
the State Normal Schools of Leavenworth and Concordia, and the usual ap- 
propriation for the Emporia Normal School was greatly reduced. The friends 



14 History of Education in Kansas. 

of normal-school education were greatly agitated over this backset. The sub- 
ject was made the chief feature of the program of the State Teachers' Associ- 
ation, held at Topeka in December, 1876. Members of the Legislature elect 
were especially invited to participate in the deliberations of the association 
on this subject. Some of them accepted the invitation, notably Col. Samuel 
N. Wood. In the speech which he made justifying the Legislature in closing 
up the normal schools, on the ground chiefly that they were local institutions, 
benefiting mainly the localities in which they existed, Colonel Wood called 
the attention of the association to a recommendation made by the educational 
committee of the State Grange, then recently in session at Manhattan, in 
which the system of county normal institutes had been recommended. Such 
a system of institutes, he said, offered a better distribution of normal educa- 
tion over the State, and an equal distribution of benefits from the public 
funds expended. The association took up the proposition, discussed it at 
length, and voted its approval. A committee was appointed to prepare a 
bill. Mr. Lemmon and Robert Hay, and the chairman of the educational 
committee of the State Grange, composed the committee. Mr. Lemmon pre- 
pared the bill, embodying the features of the Iowa law, with the operations 
of which Mr. Lemmon was himself familiar. Hon. C. J. Brown, State Sena- 
tor from Marshall county, introduced the bill, and it became^a law with little 
or no opposition. In his first biennial report, Mr. Lemmon mentions the cir- 
cumstances which led to the passage of this law. 

Henry Clay Speer was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction 
for two terms, serving from January, 1881, to January, 1885. Mr. Speer was 
born in Jackson, Miss., December 22, 1849, and settled in Lawrence, Kas., 
February, 1867. 

His first report is for the two years ending July 31, 1882. It presents full 
statistical tables, full reports of the State educational institutions, and brief 
reports of the denominational and some of the business colleges. The report 
contains remarks upon the subjects of school terms, teachers, and teachers' 
salaries, a financial exhibit of public schools, taxable property, schoolhouses, 
and school bonds, private and select schools, normal schools, normal institutes, 
county supervision of schools, school-fund commissioners, sale of State school 
lands, graded schools, criticisms of the school laws, and the best system of 
schools for the State. 

In the biennial report for the two years ending July 31, 1884, the usual 
statistical tables and reports of the State and denominational educational and 
other institutions are contained. Mr. Speer in this report presents, among 
other subjects, those of teachers and teachers' salaries, county superintend- 
ents, proceedings of the State Board of Education, State institutions of learn- 
ing, and text-books. 

Joseph Hadden Lawhead was twice elected Superintendent of Pub- 
lic Instruction, serving from January, 1885, to January, 1889. He had for- 




H. N. GAINES, 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
1893. 



State Superintendents — 1885-93. 15 

merly been county superintendent of Bourbon county, Kansas, and had 
represented that county in the House of Representatives for the years 1881 
and 1882. Mr. Lawhead was born at Uniontown, Pa., August 23, 1834, and 
settled in Fulton, Kas., in 1870. He died at Guthrie, O.T., August 16, 1892, 
while holding the office of Territorial Superintendent. 

Superintendent Lawhead published the two biennial reports covering his 
administration, from 1885 to 1889, inclusive. Among the subjects discussed 
in his first report, that for the two years ending July 31, 1886, are better 
teachers, normal institutes, sectional high schools, county superintendency, 
county, township and district system of taxation and control, school-district 
libraries, free text-books, instructions concerning the physiological effects of 
narcotics and alcoholic stimulants, and graded common schools. Statistical 
tables and institutional reports are given as usual. 

His report for the period ending July 31, 1888, is brief, giving the usual 
tables and reports of educational institutions, and containing brief remarks 
upon the general work of the Kansas educational system. 

George W. Winans served two terms as State Superintendent, from 
January, 1889, to January, 1893. Mr. Winans was born in Preston Hollow* 
Albanv county, New York, August 15, 1846. He settled in Topeka in May 
1868. 

Superintendent Winans published reports for the years 1889-'92. Like 
his immediate predecessors, he entered upon the duties of his office with rare 
knowledge and experience in the workings of the schools of Kansas, and with 
positive views as to the manner in which the duties should be performed. He 
devoted himself assiduously to his work. With able assistants in his office 
work, he was himself largely in the field, in charge of the work of normal 
institutes. In his report for the two years ending June 30, 1890, he discussed 
at some length the school-book question and the free text-book plan. In his 
report for the term ending June 30, 1892, he calls attention to the loss to the 
permanent school fund from the purchase of fraudulent bonds ; also the loss 
to the fund by reason of the failure of the city of Lawrence to redeem $100,- 
000 of bonds issued many years ago for the use of the State University. Men- 
tion is also made of the subject of State certificates and diplomas. 

Henry Newton Gaines was elected Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion for the term commencing January 9, 1893. He was born in Morgan 
county, Illinois, October 27, 1859. A portion of his childhood was spent in 
Kansas, but after an absence of some years in Illinois he again returned, set- 
tling at La Cygne, in 1881. Mr. Gaines acquired his early education through 
home study, supplementing it after returning to Kansas by attendance at 
county normal institutes and a course at the Kansas Normal College, (Fort 
Scott,) where he graduated with the first honors, June, 1888. Mr. Gaines 
then taught two years in the Dickinson county high school, resigning to fill a 
position in the Salina Normal University, where he remained until the sum- 
mer of 1892. 



Zbc IRansas public Scboo.ls; 



THE school has in this century become an established State institution. 
Rational freedom in its citizens, which is the high purpose of the State, 
can be realized only through general education ; and experience has demon- 
strated that education, to become general, must be fostered by a thorough sys- 
tem of laws. The prosperity of the State is an outgrowth of the intelligence 
of the citizens. A limitation of intelligence is a limitation of citizenship, 
Hence every citizen is benefited by, and therefore has an interest in, the in- 
telligence of every other citizen. Thus, an equalization of benefits arises from 
a uniform school system. Upon this is based the doctrine of equal obligation, 
in the principle that the property of the State should educate the children of 
the State. The recognition of these principles underlies the sustained and 
preeminent progress of Kansas among the Western States, and is numbered 
among the convincing arguments that induce her immense immigration. 
This outline review of our public-school system is prepared to show what 
educational agencies are actually in operation, and also to show their rela- 
tions in such a way as will best make plain to inquirers how our public 
schools are organized and governed to-day. 



I.-ELEMENTAEY DIVISIONS OF THE SYSTEM. 

Schedule I — Boundaries of School Districts: 

1. Cities of the first class. 

2. Cities of the second class. 

3. Ordinary school districts. 

1. Cities of the First Class. — Every city having over 15,000 population 
becomes a separate school district by virtue of its incorporation as a city of 
the first class, and its schools are conducted under the laws governing such 
cities. 

2. Cities of the Second Class. — Every city having a population of from 
2,000 to 15,000 becomes a separate school district by virtue of its incorpora- 
tion as a city of the second class, and its schools are conducted under the laws 
governing such cities. The board of education of such city has the power, 
under certain conditions, to attach adjacent territory for school purposes. 

3. The Ordinary School District. — With the exceptions noted above, 



*By H. C. Speek, State Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1881 to 1885. Revised by Prof. 
J. N. Wilkinson, State Normal School, Emporia, and Prof. L. C Woosteb, superintendent of Kansas 
Educational Exhibit for the Columbian Exposition. 

(16) 




F. H. SNOW, 

Chancellor of the State University, 
Lawrence. 



Powers of School Districts. 17 

school districts are organized by the county superintendent of public in- 
struction, whose duty it is to divide the county "into a convenient number 
of school districts," and "to change such districts when the interests of the 
inhabitants thereof require it." The limitations of this power are these : 

(a) No district shall be formed containing less than 15 school children. 

(6) No district shall be so changed as to reduce the school population to 
less than 15. 

(c) If the district is bonded, no such reduction of territory is permitted so 
that the indebtedness shall exceed 5 per cent, of the assessed property valu- 
ation. 

(d) Cities of the third class (250 to 2,000 people) must be included 
wholly in their several districts. 

(e) All acts of the county superintendent respecting district boundaries 
are subject to review by the board of county commissioners on appeal, whose 
decision is final. 

These are the three forms of school corporations, under which all the com- 
mon schools are conducted. 



II.-POWEKS OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

Schedule II — Corporate Powers of a District: 

1. Vested in a "school meeting.." 

2. In the officers. 

1. Powers of District Meetings. — A district being duly organized, the in- 
habitants thereof, lawfully assembled, have supreme control of school affairs. 
In the school meeting women as well as men are qualified electors. The stat- 
ute expressly empowers a school meeting only — 

(a) To elect a chairman, in the absence of the director (the legal presiding 
officer). 

(6) To adjourn from time to time. 

(c) To choose a director, clerk, and treasurer. 

(d ) To designate a site for the schoolhouse ; said site, when not within the 
corporate limits of a city, shall not contain less than one acre. 

(e) To determine and vote the annual tax, as deemed sufficient by the 
meeting for the various school purposes; said tax not to exceed 2 per cent, of 
the assessed valuation. 

(/) To direct the building or purchasing of schoolhouses. 

(g) To direct the sale of public-school property at discretion. 

(A) To direct the prosecution or defense of any suit to which the district 
may, be a party. 

These are powers which cannot in any case be exercised except by a school 
meeting. There are other matters which may be determined by the meeting 
in its discretion, but which otherwise are under the control of the district offi- 
cers, as — 

(i ) To decide the length of school term. 

—2 



18 History of Education in Kansas. 

( t /) To order support of summer school, or winter school, or both. 

(A) To direct the employment of a male teacher, or of a female teacher. 

2. Powers of District Officers.— The, officers of the school district constitute 
a board of directors in such a sense as to be able to transact the school busi- 
ness of the district only when in session as a board. The board, however, 
may adopt rules providing for its government, and as to when and where 
meetings shall be held. The director is considered the chairman of the board, 
and must preside at all district meetings, sign orders drawn by the clerk for 
moneys disbursed by the treasurer, and appear for the district in all suits, un- 
less other direction is made by the district meeting. The clerk is clerk of the 
board and of district meetings, if present. He draws orders on the treasurer 
for the pay of teachers, or for any other legal purpose. He makes an annual 
report, in writing, to the annual meeting, for such change and alteration as 
may be necessary as to reports of the school district, to be transmitted to the 
county superintendent of schools. This report shows the school population, 
the attendance upon schools, the length of time school has been taught, the 
wages paid, and also contains a financial exhibit of the district. He also re- 
ports to the county clerk a list of the persons residing in the district liable 
to pay taxes. It is his duty also to report to the county superintendent the 
names and post-office addresses of the district officers, and to notify him of the 
commencement of each term of school ; and he is custodian of the records of 
the district. The treasurer, who gives a bond with sufficient securities, is the 
custodian of the moneys belonging to the district. His duty is to pay out 
these moneys as the board may direct, on order of the clerk and director. The 
county treasurer pays over to him all school moneys credited to the school 
district, upon the order of the director and clerk. The treasurer is required 
to make an annual report to the school meeting, showing the collection and 
disbursement of all funds, and exhibit the vouchers therefor, which report 
is recorded by the clerk. As a board, these officers exercise in particular the 
following powers : 

(a) They purchase or lease the schoolhouse site, as designated by the dis- 
trict meeting. They build, hire or purchase such school houses as the district 
meeting shall have ordered, and make sale of any property, on order of the 
meeting. 

(b) They have the care and keeping of all property of the district, make 
rules and regulations relating to the district library and school apparatus, 
and provide the necessary appendages for the schoolhouse. 

(c) They contract with and hire qualified teachers, and, in conjunction 
with the county superintendent, may dismiss the teacher for legal cause. 

(d) They have the power to suspend, or authorize the director to suspend, 
any pupil for immorality, or for persistent violation of the regulations of the 
school. 

(e) As advisers of the teachers, they are required to visit all the schools 
of the district once a term, and at such other periods as in their opinion is 
wise, when they shall examine the register, inquire into all matters touching 



How Schools are Sustained. 19 

the schoolhouse, facilities for ventilation, furniture, discipline, methods of 
teaching and improvement of the school, and confer with the teacher in regard 
to the management, and make such suggestions as will promote the interest 
and efficiency of the school. The date and result of all such visits shall be 
entered by the clerk of the board upon their minutes. 

(/) They shall certify to the county clerk the percentage levied by the 
school district for the support of schools on the 25th day of August, annually. 
If any final judgment be obtained against the school district, the district 
board may, without instruction from the annual meeting, levy a tax for the 
payment thereof, which shall be collected as other taxes. 

(g) And in general, they shall make such rules and regulations and adopt 
such measures as in their judgment will carry out the purpose of the district 
in the support of schools. 



III.-HOW SCHOOLS ARE SUSTAINED. 

Schedule III— Support of Schools: 

1. District taxes. 

2. County school fund. 

3. State annual school fund. 

1. District Taxes. — The annual meeting may vote a tax not exceeding 2 
per cent, for the support of schools, and may designate what proportion of 
such taxes, if any, shall be used for the purpose of erecting school buildings 
or repairing the same. These taxes constitute the principal income of the 
district. 

2. County School Fund. — This fund arises from fines, forfeitures, proceeds 
from the sale of estrays, moneys paid by persons as equivalent for exemption 
from military duty, and from money directed by an order of the court to be 
distributed to heirs and remaining unclaimed for the space of one year, and 
is apportioned to the various school districts in the ratio of their school popu- 
lation, by the county superintendent, who draws his order for the same upon 
the county treasurer for the same in favor of the several school-district treas- 
urers. This fund frequently amounts to 20 cents per capita. 

3. State Annual School Fund. — This fund consists of the annual income 
derived from the interest and rents of the permanent school fund, as provided 
in the constitution of the State, and is distributed semi-annually ( in Febru- 
ary and August), as follows : The State Superintendent of Public Instruction 
apportions the fund to the various counties, and draws his order upon the 
State Treasurer in favor of the several county treasurers, in the ratio of the 
school population as reported from the various counties, from school districts 
that have supported at least three months' school in the year preceding. The 
county superintendent is notified of the amount so apportioned to his county- 
This officer then apportions the fund among the several school districts 
that have sustained at least three months' school, in the ratio of their school 
population. The amount of this fund apportioned in 1885 was $328,960, 



20 History of Education in Kansas. 

being 80 cents per capita. In 1892, the amount was $502,940.24, being $1 
per capita. It may be interesting to note that the permanent school fund of 
the State, from which the income known as the annual school fund is derived, 
consisted, on the 30th of June, 1886, of the following items: Invested in 
bonds, $3,614,823.65; cash, $88,880.31. This represents the amount at that 
time available from the sale of school land. On June 30, 1892, there was 
invested in bonds, $5,913,440.97; and the cash on hand amounted to $15,- 
323.83. The amount of unsold lands is estimated at a value that will 
probably increase the permanent school fund, when entirely available for in- 
vestment, to some 10 or 12 millions, making a magnificent endowment invio- 
labl} T set aside for the support of schools. 



IV.-SCHOOL SITES AND BUILDINGS. 

Schedule TV— Buildings: 

1. Bonds. 

2. Direct tax. 

1. School Bonds. — While the State, through the annual school fund and 
the county school fund, sets aside a certain definite support for schools, each 
district has the exclusive burden of providing a school site and erecting a 
building. This is a power which resides entirely in the qualified electors. 
The most common method of securing funds for this purpose is by loan, the 
district having the power to issue and sell its bonds for the purpose of pur- 
chasing or erecting one or more schoolhouses, as may be necessary. The bond 
law governing school districts is very strict, a majority of all the qualified 
electors residing in the district being required in favor of issuing the bonds, 
at an election of which due notice has been given, on petition of at least one- 
third of the electors. This election must in all respects be conducted as a 
general election, three judges and two clerks being required, and the polls be- 
ing open from 8 o'clock A. m. to 6 o'clock p. m. In these elections women par- 
ticipate. Such bonds are never issuable beyond 6 per cent, of the assessed 
valuation of the district, and provision for the payment of the principal and 
interest is made by the county commissioners. By a wise provision of law, 
the permanent school fund of the State may be invested in bonds of this class 
as a favorite security. The State being the holder of this indebtedness, the 
district may at any time pay off the bonds prior to maturity. Under these 
favorable conditions, the great majority of the school districts borrow the 
money, paying 6 per cent., for the purchase of school sites and the erection of 
necessary buildings. 

2. Direct Tax. — The annual meeting of the voters, as shown above, has 
power to direct what portion of the annual tax levied shall be devoted to the 
building of schoolhouses, or repairing the same or purchasing sites. It has 
power also to vote a library tax, limited by a maximum of from one-half mill 
to two mills, according to assessed valuation. 




GEO. T. FAIRCHILD, 

President of the State Agricultural College, 
Manhattan. 



Text-Books. — County Supervision. 21 



V.— TEXT-BOOKS. 

In the matter of text-books, each school district must require a uniform 
series of text-books in each of the several branches taught in the school. 
This is the only requirement of law governing the great majority of school 
districts in the State. A uniform series of text-books may be adopted for 
any county, however, by the following means : 2Vt the annual meeting each 
district may indicate, by a majority of all the votes cast at such meeting, a 
desire for a county uniformity of books, the vote to be submitted to the 
county superintendent immediately. If in any year a majority of all the 
districts shall indicate their desire for a county uniformity of books, the su- 
perintendent shall notify the districts of such vote, and call for one delegate 
from each municipal township and city of the third class in the county, such 
delegates to be elected at a meeting of the school boards of such township. 
The delegates so elected shall constitute a county text-book board, and select 
and prescribe the text-books to be used in the county for the period of at 
least five years. More than half of the counties of the State have chosen a 
county text-book board under the provisions of this law, during the first 
eight years of its operation. 



VI.- COUNTY SUPEKVISION. 

The county superintendent of public instruction is a constitutional officer, 
and is elected biennially. The laws require great activity on the part of this 
officer in the visitation of schools, in examining the accounts and record 
books of the district officers, in the organization of associations of teachers 
for mutual improvement, in the holding of a normal institute annually in 
his county, in holding public meetings in the school districts at least once a 
year, and in keeping his office open at least one day of each week, and in 
conducting teachers' examinations. He also apportions semi-annually the 
State and county school funds, and makes a very full statistical report an- 
nually to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. It it his duty to 
obtain from the county clerk annually, in time for notice to the various 
school districts at the annual meeting, a certified statement of the assessed 
valuation of property in each school district, so that the people may know 
upon what basis to make the annual tax levy for the support of schools. 
Another important duty of the county superintendent is shown in division 
one of this article, which is to form and change the boundaries of school dis- 
tricts, a very delicate and perplexing responsibility. In case of vacancy in 
the board of directors of any school district, the county superintendent ap- 
points an officer to hold until the next annual meeting. 



22 History of Education in Kansas. 



VII.- STATE SUPERVISION. 

The educational interests of the State are under the supervision and man- 
agement of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, subject to the 
limitations and restrictions of law. He has power to appoint an assistant, 
for whose acts he is responsible. It is the duty of the State Superintendent 
to distribute the income of the State school fund and the annual taxes col- 
lected for the support of common schools to those counties from which the 
proper reports have been received. He shall give his opinion, upon a written 
statement of facts by any county superintendent, on all questions and contro- 
versies arising out of the interpretation and construction of the school laws 
in regard to the powers and duties of school-district boards, school officers, 
and county superintendent, and shall keep a record of all such decisions. 
This duty gives rise to a large amount of correspondence, and constitutes no 
small part of the valuable work of this officer. He also prescribes and causes 
to be prepared the forms and blanks necessary in the details of the common- 
school system, so as to secure its uniform operation throughout the State, and 
forwards the same to the several county superintendents, to be by them dis- 
tributed to the several persons and officers entitled to receive them. He must 
visit each county at least once in two years, and as often as consistent with 
the discharge of his other duties, for the purpose of promoting the cause of 
education. The usual time of this visitation is in the course of the summer, 
while the normal institutes are being held in the various counties. He makes 
a biennial report to the Governor, containing a full tabulation of the various 
reports received from county superintendents, and sets forth in general the 
condition of education in the State, together with a statement of plans for the 
management and improvement of common schools. 



VIII.-THE LICENSING OF TEACHERS. 

Schedule V — Certificates: 

1. State certificates. 

2. Normal School diplomas. 

3. College diplomas. 

4. When certificates are void. 

5. When certificates may be canceled. 

6. County certificates. 

1. State Certificates. — The State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the 
chancellor of the State University, the president of the State Normal School, 
and the president of the State Agricultural College, ex officio, and three others 
appointed by the Governor, constitute a Board of Education for the State. 
This board has the power, upon examination, to grant a State diploma or a 
State certificate. These certificates are issued only to persons of high quali- 
fications as teachers. The certificates so issued supersede the necessity for 
local examinations of persons holding them, and are valid in any county, 
city, town or school district in the State for the term of years therein set forth. 



The Licensing of Teachers. 23 

When the State Board of Education is satisfied that any resident of this 
State, holding a State certificate issued by any other State in the United 
States, secured the same by passing an examination equivalent to that given 
by said Board, it may issue to such person a certificate without further ex- 
amination. 

2. Normal School Diplomas. — The State Normal School, at Emporia, has 
power to issue a diploma to persons graduating from the course of study re- 
quired therein, which diploma shall be a life certificate to teach in the schools 
of Kansas. 

3. College Diplomas. — Upon the application of any college, university, or 
educational institution of like standing, incorporated under the general laws 
of the State of Kansas, the State Board of Education shall have the power 
to examine the course of study prescribed and the character of the work done 
by it, and if, in the judgment of said board, it shall prove to have as efficient 
a course of study as are the four-years' courses of study in the State Normal 
School, the said State Board of Education shall have power to accept grades 
given on academic subjects completed in course and passed in regular examina- 
tion to persons who may hereafter graduate from such institutions, in lieu of 
the examinations on the same subjects required for the State certificate. The 
graduates of the State University, of the State Agricultural College, and of in- 
stitutions of learning in any of the United States, maintaining, in the judg- 
ment of the State Board of Education, the same high-grade scholarship, shall 
be entitled to the same credits as the incorporated private institutions of the 
State of Kansas. 

4. When Certificates are Void. — All life certificates issued by the State 
Board of Education or by the regents of the State Normal School shall be 
void if the holder of the same should not be engaged in school work for three 
consecutive years ; but such certificates may be renewed, at the discretion of 
the State Board of Education. 

5. When Certificates may be Canceled. — The State Board of Education is 
empowered to cancel any State certificate which, on due 'inquiry, it finds to be 
held by a person of immoral character. 

6. County Certificates. — County certificates are granted at examinations 
held on the last Saturdays of January, April, and October, and at the close 
of the summer normal institute in each county. These dates are uniform 
throughout the State. The examination may be outlined as follows: 

( a) The questions are prepared by the State Board of Education, and sent 
under seal to the various county superintendents, so as to reach their destina- 
tion at least two days before required for use. The questions are to be opened 
in the presence of a majority of the examining board, on the day and hour 
of examination. 

(6) The county board of examiners consists of county superintendent, and 
two assistants appointed by the county commissioners, who submit the ques- 
tions to the applicants under such rules as may be adopted, and examine the 
manuscripts. 



24 History of Education in Kansas. 

(c) Certificates are granted under this uniform system of examination as 
follows: Certificates of the first grade cover proficiency in orthography, read- 
ing, writing, English grammar, composition, geography, arithmetic, United 
States history, constitution of the United States, bookkeeping, physiology and 
hygiene, the theory and practice of teaching, the elements of natural philoso- 
phy, and are issued to persons at least 18 years of age who have taught 
successfully 12 school months. The general average required is 90 per cent., 
and no mark shall be less than 70 in any one branch. Certificates of the 
second grade cover proficiency in all the branches required for the first grade, 
except bookkeeping and natural philosophy; the general average required 
being 80 per cent., and no mark lower than 60. These certificates are issued 
to persons who have taught successfully at least three school months, and are 
over 17 years of age. No qualifications are prescribed for third-grade certifi- 
cates, the discretion of the county examining board governing, except that 
candidates must be examined in physiology. The first-grade certificate is in 
force three years, and may be made valid in other counties than that in which 
issued, on indorsement by the county superintendent for the unexpired term 
of the certificate. The second-grade certificate is in force two years, and the 
third grade one year. To accommodate the needs of teachers who are for any 
reason unable to attend a given examination, the county superintendent may, 
upon request from the district board, grant a temporary certificate, valid in 
the designated county only until the next regular examination by the county 
board of examiners. This adjustable scheme of uniform examinations through- 
out the State is found to be applicable to the necessities of schooling, and 
operates as a safe-guard against inefficient work in the schoolroom. 



IX.- THE TKAINING OF TEACHERS. 

Schedule VI.— Training Schools: 

1. State Normal School. 

2. County normal institutes. 

1. The State Normal School. — The establishment, history and manage- 
ment of this institution, at Emporia, are fully set forth in an article under 
the caption "Public Schools of Higher Grade," to which the reader is respect- 
fully referred. 

2. County Normal Institutes* — So far as the writer knows, the county 
normal institutes of Kansas differ in several respects from those of any other 
State. It is proposed to give in a concise form an outline of the main fea- 
tures of the law under which they are maintained, and something of their 
practical operation while they have been in existence. 

In 1876, the Legislature of the State passed a law which made it the duty 
of the county superintendent of public instruction of each organized county 
of the State to hold annually, in their respective counties, a county normal 

* By Geo. W. Winans, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1889-'93. 




A. R. TAYLOR, 

President of the State Normal School, 
Emporia. 



The Training of Teachers, 25 

of not less than four weeks. To defray the expenses of these institutes, 
county superintendents were directed to charge a fee of $1 for each person 
making application for a teacher's certificate, and a fee of $1 for every per- 
son enrolling as a member of the county normal institute. It was also made 
the duty of the State to pay $50 for the support of each county normal insti- 
tute in which there should be enrolled not less 50 members, and the board of 
county commissioners was empowered to aid in an amount not to exceed $100 
annually. 

The county superintendent of public instruction, who has the primary 
charge and responsibility of the holding of his county institutes "for the in- 
struction of teachers and those desiring to teach," employs, with the advice 
and consent of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, such persons 
as he may deem best fitted to act as conductor and instructors in the insti- 
tute, this selection being limited to those who hold certificates authorizing 
them to conduct or instruct in county normal institutes. These certificates 
are granted by the State Board of Education to persons who have high quali- 
fications, scholastic and professional, fitting them for the important work of 
instructing in or conducting normal institutes. The certificates are supposed 
to be held by persons not only of large experience, but also of considerable 
reputation as successful teachers and peculiar fitness for teaching teachers 
how to teach. These certificates are not granted upon formal examinations, 
but after careful, systematic inquiry regarding the character and ability of 
the applicant, and quite often after a personal conference with the applicant.* 

By virtue of its authority to grant institute certificates, the State Board of 
Education requires the holder of a certificate to base his instruction upon a 
course of study prepared by the board for the use of institutes. The course of 
study is printed in pamphlet form, is revised from year to year, and is, by va- 
rious methods, placed in the hands of the teachers attending the institute by 
the county superintendent. The present course of study is graded, as far as 
was judged practicable, by the State Board of Education, and contains an 

* Since the above was written, the State Board of Education, at its meeting of April 13, 1893, upon 
the recommendation of State Superintendent H. N. Gaines, adopted the following : 

RULES REGULATING INSTITUTE CERTIFICATES. 

Requirements of Conductor. — (1) He shall have attained the age of 25. (2) He shall have taught 
five years, two of which shall have been in Kansas. (3) He shall furnish satisfactory evidence of hav- 
ing instructed in two normal institutes, one of which shall have been in Kansas. (4) He shall be the 
holder of a State certificate, or a life diploma, or be a graduate of an accredited college, or furnish sat- 
isfactory evidence of having conducted successfully one normal institute in Kansas. (5) He shall fur- 
nish satisfactory evidence of a good moral character. (6) The first certificate shall be granted for one 
year. (7) Persons having conducted successfully one normal institute in Kansas may be granted a 
certificate good for five years. (8) The State Superintendent is instructed not to sign any contract 
granting the right to conduct a normal institute to anyone who is not the holder of a conductor's cer- 
tificate in force at the time of making the contract. 

Requirements of Instructor. — (1) He shall have attained the age of 23. (2) He shall have taught 
two years, one of which shall have been in Kansas. (3) He shall be the holder of a State certificate, or 
a life diploma, or be a graduate of an accredited college, or shall furnish satisfactory evidence of hav- 
ing instructed successfully in one normal institute in Kansas. (4) He shall furnish satisfactory evi- 
dence of a good moral character. (5) The first certificate shall be granted for one year. (6) Persons 
having instructed successfully in one normal institute in Kansas may be granted a certificate good for 
three years. 

Time to Make Application.— Applications for institute certificates will be considered only at the Oc- 
tober and March meetings of the board, and to insure consideration at any meeting applications must 
be made at least 30 days preceding said meetings. 

Examinat ions.— Persons not having the qualifications required by the board and desiring a certifi- 
cate may take the State examination at any of the regular examinations of the board. 



26 History of Education in Kansas. 

outline of each day's work in each of the several branches for the entire 
month. This method of systematizing the work of the county normal in- 
stitutes, thereby suggesting, and, to some extent, directing the reading and 
study of the teachers, is of the very highest value. The great majority of 
the teachers actually engaged in work each year are pursuing a definite 
course of reading and study looking toward the approaching session of the 
county normal institute. It is believed that no other State in the Union has 
secured such satisfactory results in the elementary training of teachers for 
the work to be done in the common public schools of the State; and it is 
perfectly safe to say that the normal institute as now organized is to remain 
a permanent feature of the school system of the State, because it is regarded 
as the most valuable single agency in the improvement of the instruction 
given in the common schools of the State. 

It has been almost uniformly the policy of the State Board of Education 
to grant certificates for institute work to the teachers of Kansas only. To 
supply the institutes with the teaching force required has involved the licens- 
ing of a large number of the brightest and best informed men and women of 
the teachers of Kansas for the responsible positions of institute conductor 
and instructor. It thus happens that the graded schools, while not so di- 
rectly concerned in the work of the normal institute, have profited by the 
growing strength of their superintendents and principal teachers — a strength 
largely inspired by the desire for preparation to take the leadership of insti- 
tutes. 

It is not claimed that the county normal institutes of Kansas can do, or 
should attempt to do such thorough, exhaustive work as that done by the 
State Normal School, but they do furnish to the great body of the teachers of 
the State a special training for their work which they could get in no other 
way. The great mass of teachers must obtain their inspiration and training 
from the county normal institute, and it would be impossible to estimate at 
its full value the good these institutes have done for the teachers and super- 
intendents of Kansas, and through the teachers and superintendents to the 
girls and boys of the State. They have been and are a powerful factor in the 
educational work of the State, and they are steadily improving in the matter 
of attendance and in the kind of work done by instructors and students. To 
show the extent to which these county normal institutes are attended, the fol- 
lowing figures are taken from the reports of the State Superintendent of Pub- 
lic Instruction for the years 1889, 1890, 1891, and 1892: 

There are 106 counties in the State. In the four years, there were held 
423 out of a possible 424 county normal institutes, each at least four weeks 
in length, and the average enrollment has been 110. In other words, for the 
last four years there has been held an institute in each county each year, 
with the single exception that one county, in 1889, held no institute, and 
even in that case the teachers of that county attended the institute held in an 
adjoining county. The total average attendance for each of the four years 
has been 11,754; or, as has been stated, a trifle more than 110 teachers, on 



The Training of Teachers. 



27 



an average, for each county each year, and this is just about equal to the 
number of teachers required to supply the schools of the State. The Super- 
intendent's reports show that in but five instances has the enrollment been 
less than 50 — the number entitling the county to the State appropriation of 



The annual expenditure for these institutes for the last four years has been 
a little less than $35,000, an average for each county of about $330. 

The following tabulated statement is taken from the biennial report of the 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction for 1891-'92 : 



STATEMENT OF NOBMAL INSTITUTES. 



Number of organized counties (entire State) 

Number of institutes of at least four weeks 

Number of institutes enrolling not less than 50 members, and entitled 

to the State aid of $50 

Number of institutes receiving such aid 

Expenditure for maintaining institutes 

Expenditure from local funds 

Expenditure from State appropriations 

Total enrollment in institutes 

Average enrollment for each county 



106 


106 


106 


106 


106 


105 


106 


105 


$33,549 59 


$33,876 71 


28,249 59 


28,626 71 


5,300 00 


5,250 00 


11,506 


11,918 


108.5 


112.4 



It is believed that thus far a fair and accurate showing has been made of 
the organization, growth and present condition of the county normal insti- 
tutes of Kansas. Of course, the system is not perfect, nor are its workings 
in detail beyond improvement. No doubt some careless, listless, slipshod 
work is done in more than one institute. It is also doubtless true that, in 
some instances, too little attention is paid to the professional side of the 
teacher's work. It is quite certain that certificates are granted now and then 
to persons who are not properly qualified ; but time has already served to 
correct many of these faults, and improvement from year to year is evident 
to even a casual observer. If the law could be so amended as to give special 
training to those who conduct and instruct in the institutes, it would be a 
long step in the right direction, and would make the system almost a perfect 
one. 

Almost every prominent educator of the State is a friend of the institute, 
and it may be confidently expected that gradual^ constant improvement will 
result from their efforts in its behalf. 

Notes on the Institutes* — About one-third of the county superintendents 
hold their institutes in June, another third in July, and the remainder in 
August, each series continuing four weeks. 

A course of study suggesting work for each of the 19 or 20 days in the 
several branches is provided by the State Board of Education, and requires 
about three years for its completion. 

The subjects taught are: Reading, grammar, mental and written arithme- 
tic, physiology, including the effects of stimulants and narcotics, geography, 
United States history, drawing, orthography, penmanship, calisthenics, school 



L By L. C. Woostek, superintendent of Kansas educational exhibit at the Columbian Exposition. 



28 History of Education in Kansas. 

management, methods of teaching, civil government, bookkeeping, natural 
philosophy, botany, and didactics. 

The Board of Education has made the topics for study so suggestive that 
many teachers feel that they profit by attending the institutes summer after 
summer, so long as they remain in the profession. The more competent of 
these teachers finally become the instructors, and, possibly, the conductors of 
the institutes; but more commonly the conductor, and also at least one of the 
two or three instructors in each institute, is a normal school or a college 
graduate. In this way the institute faculty is recruited from both the dis- 
trict schools and the higher institutions of learning in the State, and is thus 
made, we believe, much more efficient and influential. 

Conductors and instructors rarely work more than two consecutive years 
in one county; thus more counties receive the benefit of their professional 
skill, and the teachers of each county profit by the change of work and meth- 
ods which accompany the change of conductors and instructors. 

During the summer of 1892, the institute work required the services of 106 
conductors and 222 instructors; but as there were, as usual, three series of 
institutes, June, July, and August, these 328 positions were filled by 285 per- 
sons, of whom 82 served as conductors, 196 as instructors, and 7 as conduc- 
tors in one series of institutes and as instructors in another. 

Few teachers care to conduct or instruct in more than one institute during 
a season. There are, of course, exceptions. During the summer of 1892, one 
person conducted three institutes of four weeks each, but left the teaching 
work at the close of the season ; and another conducted two and instructed in 
one and attended a city institute, beside. He is still teaching, and apparently 
well. Seventeen conducted two institutes, and 19 instructed in two ; the re- 
mainder worked in but one each. 

The State Board of Education, during the winter and spring of 1-891— '92, 
issued, on the recommendation of eminent educators, 85 conductors' certifi- 
cates, good for one, three or five years, mostly one or five years, and in equal 
numbers, and 326 instructors' certificates good for one or three years — three 
times as many of the one year as of the three. 

It is possible that the State Board of Education has not been sufficiently 
exacting in granting these certificates, since there are in force at the present 
writing, March, 1893, three times as many certificates as the work requires, 
but the interest of the county superintendent in the success of his institute is 
so great — his popularity to a large degree depending upon it — that he almost 
invariably selects the best workers he can find in the State unengaged. The 
writer gives this testimony as to the efficiency of institute workers as the 
conclusion of a personal inspection of over 40 institutes during the summer 
of 1892. 




JOHN MACDONALD, 

Editor of the Western School Journal. 

Topeka. 



Teachers' Associations in Kansas. 29 



X.-TEACHERS' ASSOCIATIONS IN KANSAS.* 

Kansas may well be called the " association State," for she undoubtedly 
has more associations of teachers for conference, discussion, and mutual im- 
provement than any other State in the Union. The Kansas State Teachers' 
Association meets annually, and there are nine district associations, each draw- 
ing attendance from a territory comprising from 4 to 20 counties ; then nearly 
every county has an organization, and often the county has several district 
associations, the meetings of which alternate with those of the county. 

It has been truly said, that "all reforms come from above," and it is a mat- 
ter of history that the remarkable activity which for so many years has char- 
acterized association work in districts and counties originated in the Kansas 
State Teachers' Association. This organization is nearly as old as the State, 
for it was brought into being on September 29, 1863, about 20 months after 
Kansas was admitted into the Union. It was a most unpropitious year for 
any enterprises except those of destruction. Grim war overshadowed the 
land. Thirty- four teachers, some of them still with us, others in the silent 
land, met at Leavenworth on September 29, 1863, on a call from the Leav- 
enworth teachers. Among the names of those in attendance there are, H. D. 
McCarty, J. E. Piatt, Joseph Denison, Isaac T. Goodnow. All, except Su- 
perintendent McCarty, are still living, and in Kansas. The meeting lasted 
three days, and while organization was the chief purpose in assembling, 
a program of exercises was carried out. A constitution was adopted, and 
the following-named persons were elected: President, Isaac T. Goodnow, at 
that time State Superintendent of Public Instruction; recording secretary, 
Orlando Sawyer, then superintendent of Atchison county; corresponding sec- 
retary, R. W. Putnam; treasurer, J. E. Piatt. 

The next meeting was held in the M. E. Church, Topeka, and lasted from 
July 19 until July 21, 1864. The custom of recommending a candidate for 
State Superintendent began at this meeting, and Isaac T. Goodnow was rec- 
ommended for reelection. A lecture on geology was delivered by the late 
Prof. B. F. Mudge, of the State Agricultural College. As a sign of the times, 
the following resolution, passed at the meeting in 1864, speaks for itself: 

Resolved, That as philanthropists and Christians we deprecate war; but, finding 
ourselves involved therein through the madness and infatuation of the advocates of 
slavery, we will fight it through till our Union is restored and firmly established on 
the broad foundations of universal freedom, equal laws, and even-handed justice. 

A resolution calling for teachers' institutes "semi-annually in every local- 
ity where they can be conducted and sustained" was passed. Supt. H. D. 
McCarty was elected president. Mr. McCarty was also chosen editor of the 
Kansas Educational Journal, then closing the first year of its existence. The 
association in those days was not troubled with a surplus in the treasury. In 

* By John MacDonald, editor of the Western School Journal. 



30 History of Education in Kansas. 

1864, the balance at the beginning of the meeting was $6; receipts, $53; total,. 
$59. 

In 1865, on July 26-28, the association met at Atchison, in Price's Hall. 
President McCarty was in the chair. The enrollment was 59. Critics in our 
day are found only in local associations, but in the '60s the State association 
had its critics, appointed at each meeting, and these were required to report,, 
at the close of each session, all errors of omission and commission noted. Or- 
lando Sawyer was elected president. 

The fourth meeting was at Lawrence, on July 3-5, 1866. Orlando Sawyer 
presided. The Kansas Educational Journal, being the child of the associa- 
tion, so to speak, was the subject of much discussion at each meeting, and one 
of the regular committees was a committee on Journal. The paper was not 
paying for itself, and the wrestlings of the association with the annual defi- 
cit were distressing. Dr. Peter McVicar, now president of Washburn Col- 
lege, Topeka, was elected president, and D. J. Brewer, now Associate Justice 
of the Supreme Court of the United States, was elected chairman of the ex- 
ecutive committee. 

In those days the county superintendent evidently was the black sheep of 
our school system, for his shortcomings were the theme of various resolutions. 
The demands that he visit the schools regularly, that he be fit by training for 
the work, and that all his time should be given to the duties of his office, in- 
dicate that he was doing much otherwise. Normal training was the subject. 
of one resolution. A poem, subject not given, was read by Judge Brewer. 
District libraries and calisthenics appear for the first time at this meeting. A 
legislative committee, chairman, Judge Brewer, was elected; Dr. Peter Mc- 
Vicar was recommended for State Superintendent, and H. D. McCarty and 
I. T. Goodnow were elected delegates to the National Educational Associa- 
tion. The membership fees received at this meeting amounted to $65. 

In 1867, July 2-4, the meeting was at Topeka; President McVicar was in 
the chair. The association celebrated the 4th by discussing educational ques- 
tions, the session lasting all day. A resolution asking that women be allowed 
to vote at all school meetings was passed. The committee on Journal re- 
ported all expenses paid, and L. B. Kellogg and H. B. Norton were chosen 
to be its editors. The attendance at this meeting was 129. Prof. B. F. 
Mudge, of the State Agricultural College, was elected president. 

The sixth meeting was held at Emporia, on June 30-July 2, 1868. K. Mc- 
Cartney, of Grasshopper Falls, vice president, took the chair, as President 
Mudge was absent. County and district institutes were again asked for by 
resolution; likewise, that district boards should furnish text-books free to 
pupils. The Journal was congratulated upon its improved appearance and 
healthful condition, but it was recommended that the editors do not draw too 
too heavily on their own pockets; and, as a measure of relief, the August 
and September numbers were ordered discontinued. Judge D. J. Brewer was 
elected president. The enrollment was about 108. Receipts, $124.05; ex- 
penses, $129.50. 



Teachers' Associations in Kansas. 31 

The meeting in 1869 was at Manhattan, on June 29-31 ; D. J. Brewer 
presided. At this meeting it was resolved to transfer the Journal for two 
years to its editors, Messrs. Kellogg and Norton. The attendance was 195. 
I. J. Bannister, of Paola, was elected president. 

In 1870, the association met at Wyandotte, now Kansas City, Kas., on 
June 27-29 ; I. J. Banister presided. The attendance was 98. The Legis- 
lature was called upon by resolution to appropriate $3,000 for the support of 
normal institutes, and that each board of county commissioners be required 
to allow an amount not to exceed $150 for the same purpose. J. E. Piatt, of 
Manhattan, was elected president. The amount received from annual dues 
was $16.50; from new members, $26. 

The next meeting was held at Leavenworth, on December 27-29, 1870; 
J. E. Piatt was president. The township system of districting was unani- 
mously approved. Professors Banfield, of Topeka, and Dil worth, of Emporia, 
were chosen to be the editors of the Kansas Educational Journal. The dues 
and initiation fees received amounted to $61 . Philetus Fales, of Ottawa, was 
elected president. 

The next meeting was held at Topeka, on December 26-28, 1871 ; Presi- 
dent Philetus Fales was in the chair. The Educational Journal was again 
in trouble. A law requiring each district clerk in the State to take the Jour- 
nal at the expense of the district was in danger from the Kansas Editorial 
Association, and resolutions of defense were passed. Reports from the State 
schools — the University, Agricultural College, and Normal Schools — were 
made at all the earlier meetings of the association. The amount received 
from membership fees at this meeting was $60.50. Gen. John Fraser, at that 
time chancellor of the State University, was elected president. 

In 1872, December 25-27, the association met at Humboldt; General 
Fraser was absent, and D. J. Evans, county superintendent of Shawnee, was 
elected president. A resolution favoring a State reform school was passed ; 
also, one favoring the township system, four- weeks institute in each county, 
and a change in the method of electing district boards, so that one member 
should retire each year. The Journal was again a prominent subject of dis- 
cussion, but the paper was gradually drifting into individual control. J. W. 
Horner, of Chetopa, was elected president. The amount of cash received at 
Humboldt was but $40. Attendance, 53. 

The meeting in 1873 was held at Ottawa, August 27-29 ; J. W. Horner 
presided. On the evening of the 28th, a lecture was delivered by W. T. Har- 
ris, then superintendent of the St. Louis schools, now United States Commis- 
sioner of Education. County institutes were again called for by resolution. 
W. C. Rote, of Lawrence, was elected president. Attendance, 52. 

In 1874, August 18-20, the association met at Lawrence. President Rote 
occupied the chair. Reports from county and city superintendents concern- 
ing the condition of their several fields of work, were made at this meeting. 
The grasshopper was abroad in the land by the decillion, and the prospects 



32 History of Education in Kansas. 

for the schools were extremely gloomy, looked at from the association point 
of view. On one of the evenings Hon. Newton Bateman, of Illinois, deliv- 
ered a lecture. Free text-books for school districts was again discussed and 
commended. The committee on resolutions was gratified by the attendance, 
"considering the stringency of the times" — stringency caused by drouth, 
chinch bugs, grasshoppers, financial panic; in brief, the plagues of Egypt. 
The committee also, "in view of the widespread destitution caused by the 
disasters of the year," would be willing to see the burden of school taxation 
lessened. For the first time, it was resolved that the plan of work of the as- 
sociation be changed, and that there be three sections, common school, high 
school, and Colleges, each of these to be regularly organized by the election 
of necessary officers. The enrollment was about 60. E. F. Robinson, of 
Concordia, was elected president. 

The meeting in 1875 was at Topeka, on August 24-27. President Rob- 
inson was absent, and Chancellor James Marvin was elected president. The 
association expressed " a feeling of alarm " at the effort being made through- 
out the State for the abolition of the county superintendency, and called for 
increased salaries, so that the best talent could be secured ; also resolved that 
candidates for county superintendents should have a certificate from the State 
Board of Examiners.' The number of members present was 40. The several 
sections of the association began their work at this meeting. H. C. Speer, 
then of Junction City, was elected president of the association. 

In 1876, June 20 and 21, the meeting was at Valley Falls. President 
Speer was not able to be present, and Maj. E. C. Newton was elected chair- 
man. It was resolved at this meeting that the association should be incorpo- 
rated ; and for the last time in the history of these meetings a resolution was 
passed recommending a candidate for State Superintendent. The Journal 
had succumbed to the pressure of calamities of various kinds, and now a com- 
mittee was appointed to cause it to arise from the dead. The county super- 
intendency and the normal schools formed the burden of the resolutions. 
There were but 35 members enrolled at the Valley Falls meeting. The asso- 
ciation adjourned, to meet at Topeka during the holidays. The adjourned 
meeting was on December 26-29, the longest meeting in the annals of the 
association; Pres. H. C. Speer was in the chair. The committee on incor- 
poration made its final report, and the first board of directors was elected. 
A system of normal institutes was again recommended. L. B. Kellogg was 
elected president. 

The next meeting was at Emporia, on June 26-28; L. B. Kellogg pre- 
sided. The metric system seems to have monopolized the resolutions at the 
meeting of 1877. The receipts from membership fees were but $62.50. Al- 
len B. Lemmon, State Superintendent, was elected president. 

In 1878, the association met at Atchison ; Superintendent Lemmon pre- 
sided. A temperance resolution, not very strong, the first in the history of 
the association, was passed ; and at the Atchison meeting, too, for the first 



Teachers' Associations in Kansas. 33 

time, Arbor day is recommended by resolution. The board of directors 
elected Chancellor James Marvin president of the association. The receipts 
from membership fees at this meeting were $103. 

The association met at Lawrence in 1879, on June 16-18. Chancellor 
Marvin, the president, was in the chair. Gen. John Eaton, then Commissioner 
of the Bureau of Education, delivered an address. L. A. Thomas, then prin- 
cipal of the Topeka high school, was elected president. The enrollment was 
133. 

In 1880, the annual meeting was held in the Hall of Representatives, To 
peka^on June 22-24. L. A. Thomas presided. A geological survey of the 
State was called for by resolution, and the association pledged all its influence 
to the support of the amendment to the constitution, then before the Kansas 
people, prohibiting the sale or manufacture of intoxicating liquors. The 
amount received from membership fees was but $68. William A. Wheeler 
was elected president. 

The first meeting in 1881 was at Manhattan, on June 21-23. Wm. A. 
Wheeler was in the chair. The resolutions called for tree planting in school- 
house grounds, and the strict enforcement of the prohibitory law recently 
enacted. The publication of the proceedings in pamphlet form was, and 
continues to be, a much-discussed subject. Dr. William Bishop, of Salina, 
was elected president. The fees from membership amounted to $64.50. 

The second meeting in 1881 was at Topeka, on December 27-29; Dr 
Wm. Bishop presided. A legislative committee was appointed, and $50 was 
appropriated toward paying its expenses. A committee to amend the consti- 
tution was appointed, but the committee, after diligently searching, failed to 
find any constitution, hence could recommend no amendments. Geo. T. Fair- 
child, president of the State Agricultural College, was elected president. 

In 1882, the meeting was at Topeka; Mr. Fairchild presided. The pro- 
hibitory law was again approved. The constitution was revised by a 
committee, and the action was approved by the meeting. Supt. Frank A. 
Fitzpatrick, of Leavenworth, was chosen president. 

The meeting in 1883 was at Topeka, on December 26-28 ; the president, 
Superintendent Fitzpatrick, occupied the chair. The resolutions asked for 
the grading of institutes. A committee on legislation and statistics was ap- 
pointed, to serve at its own expense. It was decided that, while it would be 
desirable to have the proceedings of the association published, the funds in 
the treasury were not sufficient to meet the cost. Pres. A R. Taylor, of the 
State Normal School, was elected president. The amount of fees received, 
$91, indicates a slight increase in membership. 

In 1884, the association met at Topeka, on December 29-31 ; A. R. Tay- 
lor, the president, was in the chair. The resolutions passed at this meeting 
called for a law requiring temperance instruction to be given in the public 
schools, asked for a geological survey of the State, and that county superin- 
tendents should be elected by the people outside of cities of the first and sec- 
ond class in each county. Prof. J. H. Canfield, then of the State University, 
—3 



34 History of Education in Kansas. 

read a bill providing for county high schools. It was approved by the asso- 
ciation. Professor Canfield was elected president of the association. 

The meeting in 1885 was at Topeka, on December 28-30. It was decided 
to have department meetings in the forenoon, and general meetings in the 
afternoon and evening. This continues to be the custom. A committee of 
seven to investigate the evils of the independent school-district system was 
appointed; and a resolution asking the Legislature to change the manner of 
electing county superintendents, so as to exclude the voters of cities of the 
first and second class, was adopted. The National Educational Association, 
which was to meet at Topeka in the summer, had a prominent place in the 
discussions. Prof. P. J. Williams, of the State University, was elected presi- 
dent. 

In 1886, the association met at Topeka, on December 28-30 ; Professor 
Williams presided. The committee appointed last year to report on needed 
changes in our school system recommended the substitution of the township 
for the district system, county taxation, a county board of education, and 
other important reforms. The report, after a lively discussion, was adopted.. 
In the minutes of this meeting we find it recorded that $70 was received from 
life-membership fees, and $110 from annual dues. T. W. Conway, at that 
time superintendent of the Independence schools, was elected president. 

The meeting in 1887 was at Topeka, on December 27-29. Supt. T. W- 
Conway presided. Services in memory of H. D. McCarty, one of the found- 
ers of the association, were held on the evening of the 28th. Reading-circle 
work was approved by resolution, an equitable plan of school taxation was 
urgently demanded, the grading of county schools by legislation was favored, 
and an increase in the membership of the State Board of Education from four;- 
to six, one to be selected from the county and one from the city superintend- 
ency. H. G. Larimer, of Topeka, was elected president. 

In 1888, the association met at Topeka, on December 26-28. H. G. Lari- 
mer, the president, was in the chair. The life-membership plan was discon- 
tinued at this meeting, and the amount collected from that source, $100, was 
ordered to be refunded. The constitution was again revised. Amendments 
provided that the nominating committee, instead of being appointed by the 
president, should be selected by the association, the members from each con- 
gressional district to select one member of the committee. Another amend- 
ment provided that the executive committee should be composed of the 
president, the State Superintendent, and three members to be elected by the 
association. The executive committee was made the board of directors. The 
resolutions asked for county uniformity of text-books, an equitable system of 
school taxation, total abstinence from tobacco by teachers and pupils, the 
raising of the minimum school age from five to six, and a geological survey 
of the State. The enrollment at this meeting was 650. Prof. J. N. Wilkin-' 
son, of the State Normal School, was elected president. 

The meeting in 1889 was at Topeka, on December 25-27. President Wil- 
kinson was in the chair. The prohibitory amendment was approved by a 



Teachers' Associations in Kansas. 35 

rising vote of the entire association, excepting one or two members. The 
resolutions asked for a State school tax, and the hoisting of the "stars and 
stripes" on schoolhouses. The enrollment reached high-water mark — 1,243, 
the largest membership ever known in the history of State associations, any- 
where. D. E. Sanders, of the Kansas Normal College, was elected president. 

An unwritten law of the association has fixed the place of meeting at To- 
peka, and since 1881 there has been no serious attempt to make a change. 

The meeting in 1890 was on December 29-31. D. E. Sanders, the presi- 
dent, was in the chair. Resolutions against State uniformity of text-books, 
in favor of district ownership of books, county taxation, qualifications for the 
office of county superintendent, district libraries and a more stringent com- 
pulsory law were adopted. The enrollment was 825. Supt. D. S. Pence, of 
Sedgwick county, was elected president. 

The association, in 1891, met on December 29-31. President Pence was 
in the chair. The enrollment reached 1,165. A primary and kindergarten 
department was established by resolution. Prohibition was again commended 
as the wisest policy in dealing with the liquor traffic, and a more thorough in- 
struction in our schools concerning the injurious effects of stimulants and nar- 
cotics was urged. Supt. J. E. Klock, of Leavenworth, was elected president. 

The last meeting of the association was held on December 27-29. A severe 
snow storm decreased the attendance fully one-half, and the enrollment reached 
only 497. It would have been, in ordinary weather, at least 1,000. The res- 
olutions asked for the restoration of the State school tax, a more stringent 
compulsory law and truant schools for large cities, a uniform course of study 
for district schools, and free text-books. The prohibitory law, county high 
schools and the reading circle for teachers and children were approved. Geo. 
W. Winans, the State Superintendent from January, 1889, to January, 1893, 
was elected president. 

The State association has had, during its history, 30 annual and 3 special 
meetings ; total, 33. The plan of work in the association, by departments, is 
similar to that followed by the national association. The result of this divi- 
sion has been that more work is accomplished in a given time; the discus- 
sions are more thorough, and every teacher who comes to the meeting finds 
in some department light thrown upon the particular subject in which he or 
she is most deeply interested. 

While the association was on wheels, so to speak, the attendance suffered, 
but from the time the annual meetings were permanently fixed at Topeka 
the enrollment has steadily increased. It has not been found necessary to 
make urgent appeals or extraordinary efforts to secure attendance, for in these 
later years the association has grown so large, so helpful and so interesting 
that it attracts to its meetings teachers from all parts of the State. And here 
it may be well to say, it is thought that in one respect the E^ansas associa- 
tion is exceptional: it is, more than any other State association, a gathering 
of all the representative teachers. Notwithstanding the fact that the area of 
Kansas is more than 82,000 square miles, the teachers who are 300 miles from 



S6 History of Education in Kansas. 

Topeka take as muck pride and interest in tke association as do those who 
live in the suburbs of the city. 

A stranger inspecting association work in Kansas might conclude that 
some central committee had established a system of associations, for he would 
tind revolving around the central body a number of lesser bodies, and around 
these still smaller organizations, all bound together by a sort of educational 
law of gravitation. There are nine district associations in the State, named 
respectively as follows: Northeastern Kansas, Northwest, North Central, 
Central, Southwest, Southwestern, Southeastern, Central Union, and West- 
ern. Two of these, the Southeastern and the Western, have meetings twice 
a year, one in November and the other in the spring. The Northeast and 
Southwest meet in the spring, the others at the Thanksgiving holidays. The 
territory embraced in these district associations ranges from 4 or 5 to 12 or 20 
counties. There was an effort a few years ago to organize by congressional 
districts, but it was found more practicable to conform to railroad lines. It 
seems strange that the Thanksgiving meetings, as they are called, should in- 
crease, rather than diminish, the attendance at the State association meeting, 
held one month later, but such has been the result. 

In nearly every one of the 106 counties in Kansas there is a vigorous 
county association, which, in the most populous counties, meets once a month 
during the school year; in others, every two or three months. Sometimes a 
large county is divided into association districts, each composed of several 
townships. These sub-district meetings alternate with the county meetings. 
Generally the county association meets at the county seat, but in counties 
which have several large towns, it has been found more desirable to distribute 
the meetings. The attendance is usually a large percentage of the teaching 
force in the county. 

Programs are often prepared in September for the entire school year, 
and are distributed among the teachers. In some counties the teachers' read- 
ing circle is made a part of the association. The county superintendent finds 
the association his most powerful auxiliary in supervising the schools. He 
can, at best, make but two visits a year to each school, but through the 
monthly meeting he can keep in constant touch with the school work done in 
the county. 

But the limited space allowed for this record has already been exceeded. 
It may easily be understood that it was difficult to determine what form so 
brief a history should take. I have thought it best to extract from the min- 
utes of the State association a few of the essential facts in the report of each 
meeting, and to place these in a concise form for the information of future 
historians. The substance of important resolutions has been given, to show 
the trend of thought among representative teachers, and to prove that during 
all its history the State association has been leading, and not following, in ad- 
vocating educational reforms. Our excellent institute system, improvements 
in the law relating to county superintendents, a better examination law, the 
county high-school act, and many other beneficent measures, can be traced 



, Graded Schools. 37 

directly to the resolutions and efforts of the association, and other reforms 
for which teachers are now resolving and working, hoping aud praying, will 
be placed upon our statute book through the same agencies. Of the Kansas 
State Teachers' Association the words of George Herbert have ever been 
true : " Thy torch doth show the way." 



XL—GRADED SCHOOLS. 

Schedule VII — The organization of Graded Schools: 

1. In cities of the first class. 

2. In cities of the second class. 

3. Union or graded-school districts. 

1. In Cities of the First Class. — Every city of the first class is, by reason 
of its organization, a separate school district, and governed by the provisions 
of law supposed to be specially adapted to large centers of population. The 
corporation is known by district number only on the records of the county 
superintendent, the legal title being the "Board of Education of the City of 
." The control of schools is intrusted to a board of education, con- 
sisting of three members from each ward where the number of wards does 
not exceed four, and of two members from each ward where the number of 
wards exceeds four. The members of this board are elected by the city at 
large, although the members from each ward must be residents of the ward 
represented. The board of education is organized by the election of a presi- 
dent, vice president, and clerk, and has power to elect a superintendent of 
public schools, who shall not be a member of the board. Necessarily, the 
entire power to govern all school matters is vested in this board of education, 
as it would be impracticable to vest any powers in an annual meeting, as in 
an ordinary country school district, where the most important powers are ex- 
clusively vested in the inhabitants assembled in meetings. A board of edu- 
cation appoints its own examining committee, which shali license persons to 
teach in the schools. A State diploma or certificate from the State Board of 
Education, however, may be recognized. The board of education makes its 
own levy of taxes, and certifies the same to the county clerk for extension upon 
the tax rolls, and collection in the usual manner. The board of education 
is required to make an annual report of all matters in its control, to be printed 
either in pamphlet or newspaper form. 

The cities of Kansas now organized, and of the first class, are Topeka, 
Wichita, Atchison, Leavenworth, and Kansas City. The schools in each of 
these cities sustain a high reputation for efficiency of organization with regard 
to the common- or district-school work, and in each case sustain an excellent 
high school. All of these high schools sustain intimate relations to the State 
University, graduates being admitted to the freshman year without further 
examination. The high school in Leavenworth has been recognized in this 
manner for a number of years by Harvard College. 

2. In Cities of the Second Class. — Cities of the second class, ranging from 



38 History of Education in Kansas. 

2,000 to 15,000 people, are governed by the provisions of an act applicable to 
such centers of population. The only difference as to formal organization be- 
tween these cities and cities of the first class is that the board of education 
may, upon application of a majority of the electors of adjacent territory, at- 
tach such territory to the city for school purposes, which territory thereafter 
comprises a part of the city for school purposes only, subject to the tax and 
expense of the board of education, both for buildings and for current ex- 
penses. When such territory obtains a population equal to a ward of the 
city, or whenever its taxable property equals a ward of the city, it becomes 
entitled to elect two members of the board of education to represent it. This 
board is composed of two members from each ward, and elected from each 
ward, and not by the city at large. The board of education in a city of the 
second class has power to levy not to exceed 10 mills for the annual sup- 
port of schools. It has power also to issue its bonds for the purchase of 
school sites and the erection of necessary buildings; such bonds, however, 
must first be authorized by a vote of the qualified electors of the city, held 
upon due proclamation of the mayor. A city of the second class may sus- 
tain schools 10 months, while cities of the first class are limited to nine. It 
may be noted also that cities of the first class are limited to a seven-mill tax 
annually, the proceeds of which must cover all expenses, both permanent and 
current. Cities of the second class, of which there are between 30 and 40 
in the State, quite generally sustain not only a thorough system of graded 
schools, but also a high school. A number of these high schools give a defi- 
nite course of study of two or three years, supplementing the ordinary dis- 
trict course of seven years, and are recognized by the State Normal School 
and the State University, graduates being admitted to these institutions with- 
out examination. It is thus seen that the graded schools of the State, with 
their high schools, are now furnishing the only representation of secondary 
education. The growing excellence of these high schools is a source of much 
pride in the State, and it is hoped that by some future legislation they will so 
meet the demands for secondary schooling as to avoid the necessity of estab- 
lishing special academies for preparation for college. Cities of the second 
class are usually in charge of a superintendent, who is also frequently prin- 
cipal of the high school. In such cities a special examining board controls 
the licensing of teachers, as in cities of the first class. 

3. Union or Graded-School Districts. — The statutes provide that the ordi- 
nary common-school district shall have power, when the population becomes 
sufficient, to organize and sustain a graded school, and employ a principal for 
the same. As shown in a previous part of this article, cities of the third class 
do not constitute separate districts, but must be wholly included within their 
respective school districts. Among these cities are included many of the 
county-seat towns, ranging in population from 1,000 to 2,000 people; so that 
their conditions differ very slightly from those prevailing in cities of the sec- 
ond class. 

The report for 1886, made to the State Superintendent of Schools, shows 



County Sigh Schools. 39 

that 60 of these cities are sustaining well-organized graded schools, carefully 
supervised by the principals, whose salaries range from $600 to $1,500 per 
annum. The length of term sustained annually is nearly nine months, while 
the value of school buildings (from $3,000 to $30,000) averages about $14,- 
000. Many rural districts of large population also sustain graded schools, 
employing from two to four teachers. The law also provides means for unit- 
ing several school districts into one graded-school corporation, for the purpose 
of sustaining a grammar school or high school for such districts. Such schools 
are sustained under the statutes governing other school districts. 



XII.— COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS. 

A recent act of the Legislature provides for the organization of county high 
schools, upon a plan which promises much usefulness, especially in the coun- 
ties where there are no large towns centrally located and with an abundance 
of room in the high-school building. Experience throughout the country 
shows that, with a population of less than 2,000 or 3,000, it is difficult for a 
city to sustain a well-equipped high school, giving a course of instruction and 
training extending over a period of three or four years, and covering such 
subjects as are necessary in giving our youth a fair preparation for the ordi- 
nary avocations of life. Under this act of the Legislature, a county high 
school may be established in any county of 6,000 inhabitants. The propo- 
sition, when submitted to the voters, must name the place at which the high 
school is to be located. The county superintendent is ex officio chairman of 
the board of trustees. The board may levy a tax for erecting buildings, but 
no bonds can be voted for this purpose. 

Three courses of study are provided for — a general course, a normal course, 
and a collegiate course. The normal course fits for the first year of profes- 
sional work in the State Normal School, and the graduates of this course are 
entitled to a second-grade county certificate. Those graduating from the col- 
legiate course are entitled to admission to the State University and State Agri- 
cultural College without further examination. 

Two such schools have been organized — one in Atchison county, at Effing- 
ham, and one in Dickinson county, at Chapman. They demonstrate the ex- 
cellence of the law under which they are operating. By special act of the 
Legislature, the county commissioners of Labette county have been empow- 
ered to issue bonds to build and equip a county high school. The building 
will be erected this summer. 



40 History of Education in Kansas. 

XIII— MINIMUM SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS. 

In all school districts where there are good and sufficient buildings a school 
must be maintained not less than four months, between the first day of Octo- 
ber and the first day of June in each school year; and if the annual school 
meeting or the school-district board should neglect or refuse to provide a suf- 
ficient levy of taxes to maintain such school, it becomes the duty of the county 
superintendent, in conjunction with the county commissioners, to make an 
estimate of the amount required to sustain a public school in such school dis- 
trict, and certify the same to the county clerk, whose duty it is to place the 
levy upon the tax roll, to be collected in like manner as are other taxes. If 
the district officers fail to provide for the school on or before the first of De- 
cember, the county superintendent shall hire the necessary teachers, and pro- 
vide the necessary fuel and appendages, and in other respects provide for the 
maintaining of the school. The limitation upon the power of county officers 
is, that the act shall not apply to those school districts where a levy of more 
than 1 per cent, would be required to support and maintain a school. There 
is also a compulsion upon parents or guardians having control of any chil- 
dren between the ages of 8 and 14 years. Such children must be sent to a 
public school or private school at least 12 weeks in each year. The excep- 
tions to the operation of this act are, reasonable showings that the children 
reside too far away from the school, or that they cannot be properly clothed, 
or that the bodily or mental condition of the child is such as to prevent at- 
tendance and study, or that they are taught at home in the branches required 
in the public schools — all of which showings must be satisfactory to the 
directors. This compulsory-attendance act is probably not much enforced, 
although its effects as a final resort within the control of the district officers 
are counted valuable. 

The constitution does not permit the award of any part of the annual 
school funds to those districts which do not sustain at least three months of 
school annually. The statutes also require that the school shall not be held 
for less than three months during each year. 



XIV.— GENERAL REMARKS. 

In passing from a consideration of the common-school system of the State 
to refer to provisions for higher education, it is matter of just remark that 
the liberal provisions of the constitution and of the statutes for the support 
and maintenance of common schools are probably not excelled in any State. 
The first intention of the law, and the first thought of the newly-organized 
community, are one, in the immediate organization of a school district and 
the immediate provision of a schoolhouse. It is hardly possible for an im- 
migrant at this day to settle in any part of Kansas where he will not have 
school facilities within six months after location. 



General Remarks. 



41 



There are now in Kansas 9,123 school districts organized and officered. 
Of these, 8,903 have made their reports in due form to the county superin- 
tendents. They have employed 11,888 teachers, at an average salary of 
$42.15 for males and $35.42 for females per month, and have sustained 
school on an average throughout the length and breadth of the State 25.4 
weeks, supported at an annual cost for current expenses of about $3,500,000. 
The number of school buildings is 9,088, estimated to be worth, with the 
school sites, an average of a little more than $1,000, the total investment in 
school property being reported at $10,750,000. These 9,000 schools are all 
taught by teachers whose certificates are granted after the most critical ex- 
amination, and many of whom are graduates of normal schools or hold State 
certificates. 

The active supervision of the school work is indicated by the fact that 
county superintendents have made about 8,000 official visits and inspections 
in the year 1892, and that only 220 of all the school districts organized did 
not sustain a school. 

It is hoped that the foregoing brief review, together with an inspection of 
the statistics appended hereto in tabular form, will answer satisfactorily the 
supreme inquiry of the thousands of people who look toward Kansas as a 
State oifering great inducements for material prosperity, whether they will 
also have commensurate school facilities. 



PROGRESS OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 






1862 
1872 
1882 



534 
3,419 



13,976 
165,982 
357,920 
498,801 



k 



8,595 
106,663 
269,978 
390,728 



1A 



319 
3,795 

8,250 
11,888 



$14,009 67 

596,611 94 

1,296,255 68 

3,060,457 45 



3gg 



$217,810 80 
271,542 24 
521,987 55 



5-o 



$10,381 81 

822,644 94 

1,442,038 86 

3,539,986 11 



2,437 
5,328 
9,088 



o «> 



$10,432 

2,845,262 

4,381,749 

10,703,708 



MISCELLANEOUS STATITSICS FOR THE YEAR 1892. 

Total population of the State, 1,347,428. 

Number of persons of school age (5-21) 498,801, 

Number of persons under school influence . . . 411,424, 

Pupils in elementary schools 393,818, 

Pupils in secondary schools 14,137, 

Pupils in higher institutions 3,469, 

Total number of boys in school ' 209,217, 

Total number of girls in school 202,207, 

Boys in elementary schools 200,648, 

Boys in secondary schools 6,469, 

Boys in higher institutions 2,100, 

Girls in elementary schools 193,170, 

Girls in secondary schools 7,668, 

Girls in higher institutions 1,369, 

Total number of teachers in Kansas, 12,680. 



or 


37% 


or 


30 T 5 o% 


or 


95 T V% 


or 


3 r 4 o% 


or 


x 9 o% 


or 


50 T 9 o% 


or 


49 T V% 


or 


95 T V% 


or 


3 T V 5 o% 


or 


1t£o% 


or 


95 T %% 


or 


3 T 9 o^ 


or 


tV% 



42 History of Education in Kansas. 

Teachers in elementary schools 11,939, or 94 % 

Teachers in secondary schools 559, or 4 T 4 ^ f 

Teachers in higher institutions 182, or l T 6 (j-% 

Men teachers of Kansas 4,666, or 36 T % % 

Women teachers of Kansas 8,014, or 63 T 4 o % 

Men teachers in elementary schools 4,248, or 90 t 8 q % 

Men teachers in secondary schools 279, or 6 T ^ % 

Men teachers in higher institutions 139, or 3 T 1 - g -% 

Women teachers in elementary schools 7,691, or 95 T 9 ^% 

Women teachers in secondary schools 280, or 3 t 5 q % 

Women teachers in higher institutions 43, or t 6 q % 

Total expenditures for education, $5,415,664.63. 

Per capita of population, $4.02. 

Per capita of pupils, $13.25. 

Expenditures for elementary schools $4,464,646 11, or 82 t 4 q% 

Expenditures for secondary schools 693,108 57, or 12 t 9 q % 

Expenditures for higher institutions 257,909 95, or 4 t 7 q % 

Value of public-school property 13,854,162 00, or 79 T 6 ¥ % 

Value of denominational and private-school property 3,563,517 00, or 20 T 4 _ % 

Total number of white persons in Kansas 1,299,715, or 96 T 5 % 

Total number of colored persons in Kansas 47,713, or 3 T 5 ^ % 

White persons of school age (5-21) 479,985, or 96 T 2 ^ % 

Colored persons of school age (5-21) 18,816, or 3 T 8 <3 % 

White pupils in elementary schools 377,966, or 96 % 

Colored pupils in elementary schools 15,852, or 4^ 

White pupils in secondary schools 13,762, or 97 t 3 q % 

Colored pupils in secondary schools 375, or 2 T 7 ^% 

Colored pupils in higher institutions 13, or t 4 q % 

Colored teachers in elementary schools 85, or t 7 q % 

Pupils in State Agricultural College 584 

Pupils in State University 630 

Pupils in State University Extension 351 

Pupils in State Normal School 1,396 

Pupils in 2 county high schools 338 

Pupils in 38 denominational schools 5,437 

Pupils in 6 private normal schools 2,356 

Pupils in 10 business schools 1,627 

Pupils in 6 special institutions 914 

Normal School life diplomas 547 

State Board life diplomas 29 

State Board 5-year certificates 62 

First grade 3-year county certificates 2.361 

Second grade 2-year county certificates 6,710 

Third grade 1-year county certificates 5,572 

Temporary certificates 730 

Average salary of men teachers $42 15 

Average salary of women teachers 35 42 

Number of public-school buildings 9,088 

Number of high schools 83 

Average time of service of teachers, 3-j^ years. 

Total value of all school property, $17,417,679. 



General Remarks. 43 

Few comments on these tables are needed ; they largely explain themselves. 
A few words about our colored people may be of interest. 

As might be expected of a people just liberated from slavery, wide differ- 
ences between individuals exist. A majority of the colored men and women 
of Kansas are peaceable, industrious and useful members of society. A mi- 
nority furnish a large per cent, of the inmates of our penal and reformatory 
institutions. Though the colored people constitute but 31 per cent, of the 
population of Kansas, they furnish more than one-fourth of the inmates of 
the State Penitentiary, two-fifths of the boys of the State Reform School, and 
one-twentieth of the girls of the State Industrial School. 

On the other hand, a larger per cent, of the colored children attend school 
than of the white, and, in their earlier years, do just as well in their classes. 
Later they begin to fall behind, especially in those studies which bring into 
play the power to reason abstractly, and few, comparatively, enter the high 
school, and but 13 are found this year in the higher institutions. 

The responsibilities of their new social and industrial condition are slowly 
but surely developing the intellectual and moral capabilities of the colored 
race, and, while their level of intellectual power and their standards of morals 
are still comparatively low, the thoughtful student of this people sees much 
in them to commend, and predicts a rapid advancement along the lines of 
civilization followed by the Caucasian race. 



public Scbools of Ibigber <Srafce< 



SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 

Atchison County High School, Effingham; 5 teachers, 150 pupils. 
Dickinson County High School, Chapman; 7 teachers, 180 pupils. 
Labette County High School, Altamont. 

ATCHISON COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL.* 

^ I ^ HE first year of the Atchison County High School closed on June 3,. 
•*■ 1892. It was a year of general success. An excellent sentiment pre- 
vails throughout the county. Many who doubted the propriety of the es- 
tablishment of the school are now its warm and cordial supporters. The 
attendance greatly exceeded the expectations of the most sanguine ; the 
qualifications of the students were, for the most part, satisfactory. The zeal 
and studiousness of the young men and young women were very gratifying, 
and their excellent deportment and painstaking civility are deserving of very 
exalted commendation. 

The experiment proved a success, and it was demonstrated that a county 
high school in Atchison county was greatly needed. The first year was the 
crucial year, and the test was satisfactory. The second and subsequent years 
will be, other things being equal, successively better. The course of study 
has been somewhat improved ; the school year made more compact and bet- 
ter designed to perpetuate good school work. The building is undergoing 
thorough repairs, affording more convenience and better adaptation, the ap- 
paratus room has been put into shape for regular use, the library furnished 
with additional reference books, and additional seats have been placed in the 
assembly room, thus increasing the capacity for attendance. 

The law regulating county high schools in Kansas provides, that there shall 
be three courses of study, of three years each, viz.: (1) Normal; (2) general; 
(3) college preparatory. These courses of study for this school are as follows : 
Applicants holding a teacher's certificate, or an entrance certificate issued by 
the county superintendent of Atchison county, or other satisfactory grades, 
are admitted to the normal or general course, upon presentation of the same 
to the principal, without other examination. Applicants not holding any of 
the foregoing certificates are required to pass an examination satisfactory to 
the principal in the following subjects, viz.: Arithmetic, grammar, geography, 
reading, spelling, United States history, and physiology. Applicants are 
allowed to enter the college preparatory courses by regular promotion from 

* Extract from catalogue. 

(44) 



Secondary Schools. 45 

the junior year, normal, or general course, or upon examination covering the 
work of that year. Applicants for admission not previously examined, and 
those who failed wholly or in part on previous examination, or students who' 
desire to secure better grades, are examined at the opening of each term of 
school at the high-school building. Minimum age for admission, 13 years. 

Those graduating from the college preparatory courses are admitted to 
freshman classes in corresponding courses in the State University and other 
colleges in Kansas, and may enter the second year at the State Normal School 
at Emporia. Graduates from the normal course are entitled to a second-grade 
certificate to teach in the public schools of Atchison county. These certifi- 
cates are especially prepared by the State Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion. Those graduating from the general course are well fitted for general 
business and intelligent citizens. 

The expense of maintaining this school last year was not quite met by 
the taxes previously levied, so that a levy of 1.7 mills seemed necessary to 
pay all arrearages and to meet the expenses of this year. Hereafter the levy 
will be much less. Economy is carefully observed on all sides, and the cost 
of running the school has been reduced to a minimum. 

DICKINSON COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL. 

Kansas has, ever since the dark days w T hich ushered her into statehood, 
proudly asserted her claims to recognition in the line of educational develop- 
ment. In the perilous times when she received the title of "bleeding Kan- 
sas," in the seasons when the devastating locust threatened ruin, and when 
plain and valley were scorched by wind and sun, Kansas never turned her 
back upon her schools. The neat but unpretentious school building followed 
close upon the sod house which the farmer had builded for his home, while in 
village, town and city the public school building was the most beautiful and 
costly structure. In higher education, also, "the sunflower State" need not 
be ashamed of her record. At the head of the system stands the University, 
young in years but grand in her achievements, with her efficient arms, the 
Agricultural College, and the State Normal School. 

The growth of the University, compelling her to cut off her preparatory 
work, made more apparent to the educators of the State the need of second- 
ary fitting schools, which should throughly prepare for that institution. The 
city high schools were doing their best to meet the requirements, but, from 
lack of teaching, force and the crowded condition of buildings, were unable 
to satisfactorily care for those living within the city limits. The farming 
districts have been thus practically deprived of all advantages of free sec- 
ondary instruction. To bridge this gulf between the district school and the 
University therefore seemed most desirable. 

In addition to this motive, fitting schools for the Agricultural College, the 
State Normal, and other institutions of higher learning were sadly needed. 
The State Normal, crowded as it is with those desiring to fit themselves for 
the vocation of teaching, enrolls only a fraction of the 12,000 teachers who 



46 History of Education in Kaiisas. 

have charge of our schools. To give, then., to the great mass of teachers 
sonic instruction which will better prepare them for their work seemed very 
important. In addition to these objects, a third one, that of fitting young 
men and women for business life, may be added. This seems especially true, 
since so small a per cent, of those graduating from secondary schools ever 
pursue their studies further than the high school. 

The need, then, of schools which will thoroughly prepare students for the 
State institutions, for the duties connected with teaching and for business life- 
being so apparent, the question of how best to provide for them must next be 
settled. Township schools had not been a decided success where tried, and 
the union graded district-school law was a failure. For crystallizing opinions,, 
the county seemed to be the best unit, being sufficiently large to provide nec- 
essary funds for the maintenance of a first-class school. In accordance with 
this thought, the State Legislature passed the present county high-school law 
in 1886. 

Its salient points are: The establishment of the school in the county by a 
vote of the people; its government, when established, by a board of six trustees, 
elected each year in the same manner as other county officers ; three courses 
of study, to meet the demands previously outlined ; the support of the insti- 
tution by a tax levied by the board and trustees, and approved by the county 
commissioners ; and lastly, a required admission of its graduates to the State 
institutions without examination, and the certification of the graduates of the 
normal course to teach in the schools of the county in which the school is 
located. 

Dickinson county first availed herself of the opportunity offered, establish- 
ing a county high school in Chapman, Kas., which opened September 3, 1889,. 
with an enrollment of 67 students. The attendance increased rapidly, reach- 
ing the first year 137 students, the second year 170, and the third year 180. 
This success has been attained in spite of great difficulties, the project being 
a new and untried one, the location being considered by many unfavorable, 
and the county seemingly being already supplied with sufficient secondary 
schools; yet in spite of these obstacles the institution has won for itself an 
enviable reputation, opposition has been changed to hearty support, and the 
tax for its support has been cheerfully paid. While very many young peo- 
ple through the instrumentality of the school have been induced to seek a 
good education who would have otherwise attended no other school than that 
in the country district, the country schools themselves have been greatly 
benefited. A new enthusiasm has come to both pupil and teacher, under the 
stimulus of preparation for the county high school, and thus in its reaction- 
ary effects the high school proves most beneficial. The parent, having his 
boy practically under his own supervision, feels more ready to send him away 
from home than he would were the institution more remote. 

The frequent home visits of the pupil keep the parents in constant touch 
with the school, while the visits of the principal annually assist him in un- 



Secondary Schools. 47 

derstanding the needs of the school, and encourages those of the district 
school to earnestly strive to prepare for the entrance examination. 

The expense of conducting such a school is a question of paramount im- 
portance, and is the first one arising when the thought of establishing a school 
is raised. Educational advantages are, it is true, costly, but when the burden 
is equally distributed through the entire county the individual outlay is slight. 
A 3-mill levy put up and equipped the necessary buildings, and an annual 
levy of 1 mill has supported the institution. The assessed value of the prop- 
erty being about one-fourth its actual value, this means a tax of one-fourth 
of a mill on the property of the county. This tax, otherwise than being a 
burden, is really a benefit to the school, since many take advantage of the 
instruction and privileges it offers because they are taxed for its support. 

The board of trustees are now employing six instructors, having charge of 
the departments for which they are especially fitted. With this teaching 
force, they are able to maintain the courses of study for which the law pro- 
vides — the collegiate preparatory, the normal, and the general, involving the 
necessary language work in Greek, Latin, German, and French, a thorough 
drill in bookkeeping and commercial forms, and laboratory work in the ele- 
ments of the sciences, all of which branches are so sadly neglected in the 
average city high school. 

In Dickinson county, the scope of the institution has been much broader 
than that of the city schools. Literary societies and organizations for social 
and Christian upbuilding have not only been found practicable but exceed- 
ingly beneficial. A teacher in music has been employed, who gives her en- 
tire time to the work, and whose salary is mostly met by the receipts from 
private lessons. All of the students are required to receive instruction in elo- 
cution, music, and drawing. 

From time to time the board of trustees has appropriated funds for the 
library, until about 650 volumes have been purchased, which have been used 
both as books of reference and as a circulating library, with profit to the stu- 
dents, and the school. 

Thus briefly is set forth the history of the Dickinson County High School. 
That it has proven a success is unquestioned, both in point of attendance and 
in the work it has done. Many other counties which have watched with in- 
terest the growth of the school are agitating the establishment of similar in- 
stitutions, and the time will soon come when this sentiment will prevail all 
over the State. The law, while it no doubt may be and will be improved, is 
in the main a good one. The county high school has come to Kansas to stay. 
She has solved to her satisfaction the problem of secondary schools for the 
masses. 

LABETTE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL. 

By special enactment, the Legislature of 1893 authorized the board of 
county commissioners of Labette county to purchase a site and to build a 
building, in which to maintain and conduct a high school under the provi- 
sions of the general county high-school law, without submitting the proposi- 



48 History of Education in Kansas. 

tion to a vote of the people of Labette county. In accordance with this 
authority, the county commissioners are busily preparing their plans, hoping 
to push the building so rapidly that school may be opened next winter. 



HIGHEE INSTITUTIONS. 

State University, Lawrence: 41 teachers, 981 pupils. 

State Normal School, Emporia; 22 teachers, 1,396 pupils. 

State Agricultural College, Manhattan; 28 teachers, 584 pupils. 

THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS. 

By act of Congress approved January 29, 1861, 72 sections of land were 
set apart and reserved for the use and support of a State university in Kan- 
sas. The State accepted the trust, and in an act approved March 1, 1864, 
provided as follows : 

Section 1. There shall be established in this State, at or near the city of Law- 
rence, in the county of Douglas, on the grounds secured for that purpose, pursuant 
to the act entitled "An act to locate the State University," passed February 20, 1863, 
an institution of learning, under the name of the University of Kansas. 

Sec. 2. The object of the University shall be to provide the inhabitants of this 
State with the means of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the various branches of 
literature, science, and the arts. 

The Legislature of the State made further provision for the University, in 
an act approved February 25, 1889, and entitled "An act to provide for the 
government and maintenance of the University of Kansas." This act re- 
pealed all former legislation bearing upon the same topics, and continues the 
name of the University of Kansas, and its location at Lawrence, in Douglas 
county. It further enacts — 

That the University shall provide the means of acquiring a general and thorough 
knowledge in literature, the sciences, and the arts; and also provide students who 
desire to pursue special studies with the most approved appliances, authorities and 
instruction to inure the greatest knowledge and research in any special branch of 
learning connected with university education; that it shall consist of three depart- 
ments: (1) A department of the literatures; (2) a department of the sciences; (3) a 
department of the arts; and that within these three departments there shall be es- 
tablished such schools as the regents, in connection with the faculty, may order. 

The Pniversity of Kansas now consists of the following schools : School 
of arts, school of law, school of music and art, school of pharmacy, and 
school of engineering. The material equipment of the University com- 
prises five buildings, all fully occupied. The University also rents a large 
building, which is occupied by the school of music and art. 

The Main Building is 246 feet in extreme length, 98 feet wide in center, 
wings 62 feet each. There are 54 rooms in this building, of which one, the 
main audience room, is 94 feet long, 56 feet wide, and has a seating capacity 
of about 1,200. Eighteen lecture rooms in the main building are each large 
enough to accommodate classes of over 80 students. Eight rooms in the south 




m w ^ ^ .5 > 









fllliplf 



' m mm 
> 




■ -' ■'■■'- '- - 




, -2 






The University of Kansas. 49 

wing on the first floor are devoted to the department of physics. The library 
and reading room occupy the entire first floor of the north wing. The offices 
of the chancellor and treasurer are in the center of the building. This build- 
ing is heated by steam and hot air, and is lighted by electricity. The elec- 
trical plant was installed and is operated by the department of physics and 
electrical engineering. 

The Chemistry Building stands a short distance southwest of the main 
building. It is constructed upon the most approved plans, and furnished 
with the needful appliances for instruction. The east wing of the main floor 
is occupied as a lecture room, seated in amphitheater style, and is capable of 
accommodating 100 students. The other rooms of the building are occupied 
as laboratories, assaying and balance rooms. The laboratory, intended for 
students in qualitative analysis, has over 25,000 cubic feet of air space, and 
will accommodate 54 students, each supplied with cupboards, reagent bottles, 
and other necessary apparatus. 

Snow Hall of Natural History is located about 200 feet west of the main 
building, and is 110 feet in length by 100 feet wide; is provided with ample 
basement almost entirely above ground, two stories each 16 feet, and an attic 
of 12 feet. Its museums are designed to make a complete exhibit of the 
various collections in zoology, geology, and botany, and its laboratories are so 
related to the various museum rooms as to secure the utmost convenience. 
The lecture room, extending through the basement and first story, and ar- 
ranged in amphitheater style, will accommodate 200 students. 

The Electrical Engineering Shops and Engine House is a building 86 by 
48 feet, about 500 feet south of Snow Hall, and about 60 feet below the level 
of the ground upon which the other University buildings stand, thus afford- 
ing the best possible facility for the distribution of the steam and the return 
of the condensation. The eastern section of the building contains on the 
first floor an Armington & Sims 35 horse-power engine, and several dynamo 
plants for instruction in electrical engineering. The second story contains 
the electrical-engineering machine shops. The third story will be devoted to 
photometric and photographic purposes. The building has testing wires run- 
ning to the physical laboratories in the main building, where the more deli- 
cate instruments are in use. The dynamo plants furnish, in addition to the 
incandescent lamps for the main building, arc lights for the illumination of 
the University grounds. 

Important aid in the study of natural history is afforded by the collections, 
which contain more than 150,000 specimens illustrating the work in botany, 
zoology, and geology. A good collection of plaster casts, models, photographs, 
etc., has been made as an aid to the study of the ancient and modern lan- 
guages. Among these are plaster casts of Greek sculpture. The students in 
civil engineering are well provided with instruments for operation in the field 
and draughting room. The equipment of this department consists of chains, 
tapes, compasses, transits of different forms, levels, aneroids, rods, current 
meter for measurement of the flow of streams, machine for testing the strength 
—4 



50 History of Education in Kansas. 

of building stones, etc. In physics, there is already about $15,000 worth of 
apparatus from the best makers; first-class galvanometers, electrometer, re- 
sistance blocks and bridges, an electro chronograph, a spectroscope, a cathetom- 
eter and other valuable pieces of apparatus are comprised in the equipment 
of this department. The equipment of the electrical-engineering shops is 
worth about $6,000. It includes lathes, planers, drills, milling machines, etc. 
A forge house, equipped with five forges, power blasts, and large assortment of 
forging tools, has recently been erected. The electric-lighting plants include 
a 500-light Westinghouse alternating dynamo, a United States dynamo, and 
an American arc plant complete. There is being constantly added machinery 
and electrical appliances of the latest types. 

The University Library contains 17,360 volumes, in addition to a large 
number of unbound pamphlets and bulletins. The most liberal facilities in 
using the library are offered to all the members of the University. With a 
few necessary exceptions, the books may be taken from the library. The 
members of the junior and senior classes and a few of the special students 
are permitted access to the book shelves. The reading room receives more 
than 200 American and foreign newspapers, scientific, philologic, literary 
and art journals, and contains also dictionaries, cyclopedias and other books 
of reference. 

Athletic Grounds. — By the generosity of Col. John J. McCook, of New 
York, and Hon. Charles Robinson, of Lawrence, the University has a well- 
prepared ground of 12 acres, with one-fourth mile track, and baseball and 
football grounds, convenient to the University. A small gymnasium equip- 
ment is at present in one of the rooms of the main building. 

Total Value. — The estimated value of the entire equipment of the Univer- 
sity is $619,000, of which $358,000 is in buildings and grounds, and $261,- 
000 in department apparatus, including the general library. 

Tuition is free in every department of the University, and no contingent 
or admission fee is required of residents of the State. A contingent fee of 
$10 per annum is required in the collegiate classes from nonresidents of this 
State. 

Admission. — Students are admitted into the freshman class in the school 
of arts upon the certificate of any president, superintendent or principal of 
any college, academy or other incorporated institution of learning, or of any 
high school, showing that such students have completed all the preparatory 
prescribed studies as laid down in the University catalogue. More than 70 
Kansas high schools and 10 academies prepare students for the freshman 
class of the University. 

The University of Kansas draws its students from all parts of the State, 
more especially from the homes of farmers, as the following list, giving the 
occupations of the parents of the students now in attendance at the Univer- 
sity shows: Farmers, including stock raisers, horticulturists, etc., 38J per 
cent.; merchants and tradesmen, 20 per cent.; professional men, including 
lawyers, ministers, teachers, etc., 17 I per cent.; bankers and capitalists, 



The University of Kansas. 51 

including manufacturers, etc., 5 per cent.; artisans, including carpenters, 
blacksmiths, mechanics, laborers, etc., 8i per cent.; miscellaneous, includ- 
ing clerks, hotel keepers, missionaries, county officials, etc., 11 per cent. Of 
the students now in attendance at the University, 32 per cent, are entirely 
self-supporting; 10 per cent, are one-half self-supporting; 10 per cent, are 
partly self-supporting, and 48 per cent, are not at all self-supporting. 

The Faculty of the University now comprises 45 members. The follow- 
ing is a complete list of the present regents, officers and members of the board 
of instruction of the University : 



Board of Regents . 
F. H. Snow, LL.D., President. 

Chas. Robinson, Lawrence. 

J. P. Sams, Seneca. 

Wm. Rodgees, . . . Barnes. 



D.A.Valentine, . . . Clay Centre. 
C. R. Mitchell, . . . Geuda Springs. 



C. F. Scott, .... Iola. 
Officers of the University. 

F. H. Snow, Chancellor. 

R. K. Moody, Secretary and Treasurer. 

W. J. Haughawout, . General Agent for University Lands. 

T. R. Beeese, Supt. of Buildings and Grounds. 

Board of Instruction. 

Fbancis Huntington Snow, Ph.D. (Williams), LL.D. (Princeton), President, Pro- 
fessor of Botany and Entomology, and Director of the Museum of Natural His 
tory. 

David Hamilton Robinson, Ph. D. (Rochester), Professor of Latin Language and 
Literature, and Secretary of the Faculty. 

Ephbaim Milleb, A.M. (Allegheny), Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy. 

James AVoods Geeen, A.M. (Williams), Dean of School of Law, and Professor of 
Constitutional Law, Evidence, Equity, Jurisprudence, and Criminal Law. 

William Heebeet Caeeuth, A. M. (Kansas University and Harvard), Professor of" 
German Language and Literature. 

Feank Olin Maevin, A.M. (Allegheny), Professor of Civil Engineering. 

Edgae Heney Summebeield Bailey, Ph. B. (Yale), Ph.D. (Illinois Wesleyan), Pro- 
fessor of Chemistry. 

James Willis Gleed, A. M. (Kansas University), Professor of Law of Real Property, 
Wills, and Administration. 

Alexandeb Maetin Wilcox, Ph.D. (Yale), Professor of Greek Language and Liter- 
ature. 

Lucius Elmee Sayee, Ph. G. (Philadelphia), Professor of Pharmacy. 

Aethub Gbaves Canfield, A. M. (Williams), Professor of French Language and Lit- 
erature. 

Lucien Iea Blake, Ph. D. (Berlin), Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering. 

Anna Maech Dunlap (Cincinnati Conservatory of Music), Professor of Piano and 
Voice. 

Lewis Lindsay Dyche, A. M., M. S. (Kansas University), Professor of Zoology, Taxi- 
dermist, and Curator of Mammals and Birds. 

Fbank Wilson Blackmae, Ph. D. (Johns Hopkins), Professor of History and Soci- 
ology. 

Chaeles Geaham Dunlap, A.B. (Ohio Wesleyan), Litt.D. (Princeton), Professor of 
English Language and Literature. 



52 History of Education in Kansas. 

George Barlow Penny, B. S. (Cornell), Dean of School of Music and Fine Arts, and 
Professor of Piano, Voice. Organ, Theory, Lecturer upon ^Esthetics, Music and 
Art Topics. 

Samuel Wendell Williston, A. M. (Kansas Agricultural College), M. D., Ph. D. (Yale), 
Professor of Historical Geology, Vertebrate Anatomy, and Physiology. 

George Edward Hopkins (Cincinnati and Munich), Professor of Drawing and Paint- 
ing. 

Carl A. Preyer, Professor of Piano. 

K. Geza Dome (Vienna Conservatory, pupil of Joachim and Remenyi), Professor of 
Violin and Orchestral Instruments. 

Olin Templin, A. M., M. S. (Kansas University), Associate Professor of Philosophy. 

Frank Heywood Hodder, Ph. M. (Michigan University), Associate Professor of Ameri- 
can History and Civics. 

Edwin Mortimer Hopkins, A. M. (Princeton), Associate Professor of English Lan- 
guage and Literature. 

Henry Byron Newson, Ph.D. (Ohio Wesleyan), Associate Professor of Mathematics. 

Erasmus Haworth, M.S. (Kansas University), Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins), Associate Pro- 
fessor of Physical Geology and Mineralogy and Petrography. 

Miles Wilson Sterling, A. B. (Kansas University), Assistant in Greek. 

Edward Charles Murphy, M.S., C. E. (Cornell), Assistant in Civil Engineering. 

Edward Curtis Franklin, M. S. (Kansas University), Assistant in Chemistry. 

William Chase Stevens, M.S. (Kansas University), Assistant in Botany. 

Frank E. Ward, Assistant "in Electrical Engineering Shops. 

Vernon Lyman Kellogg, M. S. (Kansas University), Assistant in Entomology, and 
Chancellor's Secretary. 

Hannah Oliver, A. M. (Kansas University), Assistant in Latin. 

Samuel Herbert Boyce, Ph. C. (Michigan University), Assistant in Pharmacy. 

William Baldwin Brownell, A. B. (Hamilton), LL. B. (Kansas University), Assist- 
ant in Law. 

Ephraim Douglas Adams, Ph. D. (Michigan University), Assistant in History and So- 
ciology. 

H. Foster Jones, A. B. (Amherst), Assistant in English. 

Elmer Franklin Engel, A. B. (Kansas University), Assistant in German. 

Alvin W. Shepard, B. S. (Cornell), Assistant in Physics and Electrical Engineering. 

Eugenie Galloo, B.L. (Michigan University), Assistant in French. 

Solon Otis Thacher, LL.D. (Union), Lecturer on Equity. 

Alfred Washburn Benson, Lecturer on Pleading and Practice. 

Samuel Agnew Riggs, A. M. (Washington and Jefferson), Lecturer on Torts and Law 
of Railways. 

Martin Everett Rice, B. S. (Kansas University), Instructor in Physics Laboratory 
and in Mathematics. 

Carrie M. Watson, A. B. (Kansas University), Librarian. 

THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL. 

The State Normal School of Kansas was established by an act of the Leg- 
islature approved March 3, 1863, and was organized by an act approved Feb- 
ruary 16, 1864. Its establishment and organization were due in great measure 
to the untiring efforts of Senator P. B. Maxson and Representative C. V. Esk- 
ridge, at that time members of the Legislature. 

On account of the unsettled state of affairs, the board of directors did not 
meet until December 8, 1864. The secretary of the board, Rev. G. C. Morse, 



The State Normal School. 53 

was appointed a committee to visit normal schools in the East and secure a 
suitable man for principal. On his recommendation, Prof. L. B. Kellogg, a 
graduate of the Illinois Normal University, was elected to that position. The 
first term opened on February 15, 1865, in the school building of the district 
of Emporia, which had been kindly offered by the city for the use of the 
school until the State could provide a suitable building. The enrollment on 
the opening day reached 18 students. On January 2, 1867, the new building 
erected by the State at a cost of $10,000 was formally dedicated. It was a 
two-story stone structure, well adapted to the needs of the school at that time- 
In the following June the first graduating class was awarded diplomas. It 
consisted of Misses Ellen Plumb and Mary J. Watson. In the following year 
the graduating class numbered four persons, and in 1869 nine persons were 
graduated. The school continued to grow rapidly in numbers, until in 1870 
the total enrollment was 243. 

In 1871, there were six regular teachers employed, all accomplished and 
enthusiastic workers. In that year, Principal Kellogg resigned, and was suc- 
ceeded, at the opening of the term in September, by Prof. Geo. W. Hoss, of 
Indiana. Through the efforts of the friends of the institution, the Legisla- 
ture had appropriated $50,000 for the erection of a new building, which was 
completed and dedicated June 19, 1873. It was a large, commodious and 
beautiful building, and, together with the increased provisions made in the 
way of faculty and apparatus, gave the school greater recognition than ever 
before in all parts of the State. Having been offered a position in Indiana, 
President Hoss resigned, in the fall of 1873. 

On January 1, 1874, Dr. C. R. Pomeroy, of Iowa, succeeded to the presi- 
dency. In the following year, there were 375 students enrolled, and 18 mem- 
bers in the graduating class. The courses had been revised, in keeping with 
the advanced standard for normal-school work, and the institution seemed to 
have a bright future before it. The Legislature of 1876, however, practically 
withdrew all support from the school, and it was left to its own resources. 
The faculty were authorized by the board of regents to charge tuition fees, 
and to prorate the income as they might agree, leaving the general manage- 
ment of the institution in the hands of President Pomeroy. Some local 
troubles, however, combined with the financial embarrassments, and the at- 
tendance rapidly declined. As a climax to it all, the building burned to the 
ground on the morning of October 26, 1878. The origin of the fire was 
spontaneous combustion of coal in the basement. The citizens provided ac- 
commodations for the school in the city; but President Pomeroy finally 
yielded to the embarrassing circumstances, and resigned in the summer of 
1879. 

Prof. R. B. Welch, of Illinois, was elected to the presidency in August, 
together with an entirely new faculty. The attendance slightly increased 
during the year, and, on February 8, the new building, the exact counterpart 
of the one destroyed by fire, was dedicated with great enthusiasm. All of 
the departments of the school were thoroughly reorganized, and the model 



54 History of Education in Kansas. 

school reestablished, practically upon the same basis on which it is now con- 
ducted. The enrollment for the year closing June, 1882, reached 402 stu- 
dents, including 200 in the model department. In order that he might 
devote himself to the practice of law, President Welch resigned, in the spring 
of 1882. 

Prof. A. R. Taylor, of Illinois, was elected president, and entered upon his 
duties with the opening of the school year in September. Since that time 
the attendance has increased very rapidly, averaging about 100 additional 
each year, the enrollment for the year ending June 30, 1892, being 1,396, 
including 1 87 in the model department. The total membership of the faculty, 
including assistants, was 22. In February, 1888, anew wing 70x70 feet was 
erected, which increased the number of rooms in the building to over 50. 
The Legislature of 1893 appropriated $50,000 for a new wing and assembly 
room on the east. When it is completed, the building will contain nearly 70 
rooms, all admirably adapted to the purposes of the school. In the last 12 
years the library has increased to about 8,000 volumes, and occupies a suite 
of four handsome rooms, including the additional room given by the erection 
of the new wing. The department of natural history and the department of 
physics, chemistry and physiology occupy four rooms each for recitation and 
laboratory purposes. The art department has two beautiful rooms on the 
third floor. All are well equipped with a variety of apparatus suitable to 
the demands of their work. The same is true of all the other departments 
of the institution. The four society halls are among the most beautiful and 
convenient in the West. 

The courses of study embrace the following subjects: Arithmetic, decla- 
mation, elocution, geography (descriptive), grammar, United States history, 
algebra, bookkeeping, drawing, physical geography, penmanship, rhetoric, 
rhetorical criticism, botany, Latin, music (vocal), geometry, physics, English 
literature, geology, political economy, astronomy, methods of teaching, men- 
tal science, teaching and criticism, oration, physiology and hygiene, school 
economy and management, civil law, history of education, philosophy of edu- 
cation, outlines and reviews, kindergarten and primary methods, etc. 

The graduating class of 1892 contained 78 members, and that of 1893, 
120 members. The total number of graduates is 547. 

In establishing the institution, the Legislature provided for its mainte- 
nance and support by setting apart 30,380 acres of land as a permanent en- 
dowment, to which it added some 7,000 acres of land in 1886. These lands 
have produced an endowment fund of over $270,000. An incidental fee, 
yielding an aggregate of about $10,000 per year, is charged all students 
below the senior year. To the income from these two sources the Legisla- 
ture makes additions by annual appropriations. These for each of the next 
two years approximate $9,000. 

The school is now recognized by the profession as ranking in equipment, 
faculty and efficiency of work with the best normal schools of this country. 

In 1883, the regents provided for the payment of mileage for Kansas stu- 



The State Agricultural College. 55 

dents coming from outside a radius of 100 miles. About 200 now receive 
mileage each year, and the provision enables the school to reach all parts of 
the State at little expense to any student. Last year 88 Kansas counties and 
17 States were represented. 

The school is known not only for its high standard of scholarship, but for 
its liberal spirit and sterling moral tone. The following resolution, adopted 
by the board of regents in January, 1868, has ever since controlled the man- 
agement of the institution : 

That the board of directors do not hesitate to declare it to be the duty of the 
faculty to impress upon the minds of the students the fundamental principles of 
Christian religion; yet, as the institution is not in any respect denominational, the 
faculty, or any member of it, will not be justified in inculcating denominational 
peculiarities in speaking to students for or against any church organization.- 

By law, the diploma is a life certificate to teach in the public schools of 
the State. 

Limited space forbids further elucidation of the history of the school, 
though its spirit and methods have entered thousands of Kansas schoolrooms, 
giving a new meaning to education and greater efficiency to every grade of 
work. Its students, graduates and non graduates, are known to be teaching 
in nearly every county in the State, many of them occupying the most im- 
portant positions, including the city superintendencies of Topeka, Leaven- 
worth, Wellington, Pittsburg, Parsons, Concordia, etc. With its splendid 
following of students, its enlarged facilities, and its devoted faculty, there is 
every assurance that it is just now entering upon a sphere of usefulness which 
is seldom exceeded by institutions of like character. 

THE STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 

Endowment and Resources. — An act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, 
gave to each State public lands to the amount of 30,000 acres for each of the 
Senators and Representatives in Congress, according to the census of 1800, 
for the "endowment, support and maintenance of at least one college, where 
the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical 
studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as 
are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, ... in order to pro- 
mote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the sev- 
eral pursuits and professions of life." 

Under this act the State of Kansas received 82,313.53 acres of land, and, 
in 1863, established the State Agricultural College, by endowing with these 
lands Bluemont College, which had been erected two miles from Manhattan, 
under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but was presented to 
the State for the purpose named in the act of Congress. 

In 1873, the college was reorganized upon a thoroughly industrial basis, 
with prominence given to practical agriculture and related sciences; and in 
1875 the furniture and apparatus of the college were moved to the present 
farm of 219 acres, one mile from the city of Manhattan. On this fine loca- 



56 History of Education in Kansas. 

tion the State has erected buildings valued at $136,000. The farm and 
grounds, furniture, stock and other illustrative apparatus are valued at 
$160,000. The present value of buildings, grounds, apparatus, etc., is more 
than equal to the sum of all appropriations by the State. All the lands 
have been sold, giving a fund of $502,927.35, which is by law invested in 
bonds, the interest alone being used for the current expenses of the college. 

The annual income from the endowment fund, about $30,000, is supple- 
mented by an appropriation under an act of Congress approved August 30,. 
1890, of $15,000 for 1890, $16,000 for 1891, $17,000 for 1892, and a sum 
increasing each year by $1,000 until the annual amount shall be $25,000. 
This fund is "to be applied only to instruction in agriculture, the mechanic 
arts, and the English language, and the various branches of mathematical, 
physical, natural and economic science, with special reference to their appli- 
cation in the industries of life and to the facilities for such instruction." "No 
portion of said moneys shall be applied directly or indirectly, under any pre- 
tense whatever, to the purchase, erection, preservation or repair of any build- 
ing or buildings." 

All expense of instruction is thus provided for, and the State is left to erect 
the necessary buildings and meet expenses in management of the funds. 

Under an act of Congress approved March 7, 1887, the college received, 
by general appropriation in Congress, $15,000 each year for the maintenance 
of an experiment station, "to aid in acquiring and diffusing among the people 
of the United States useful and practical information on subjects connected 
with agriculture, and to promote scientific investigation and experiment re- 
specting the principles and applications of agricultural science." The prop- 
erty of the station, including a building erected especially for its use, amounts 
to more than $12,500. 

Objects. — This college now accomplishes the objects of its endowment in 
several ways: 

1. It gives a substantial education to men and women. Such general in- 
formation and discipline of mind and character as help to make intelligent 
and useful citizens are offered in all its departments, while the students are 
kept in sympathy with the callings of the people. 

2. It teaches the sciences applied to the various industries of farm, shop, 
and home. Chemistry, botany, entomology, zoology and mechanics are made 
prominent means of education to quick observation and accurate judgment. 
Careful study of the minerals, plants and animals themselves illustrates and 
fixes the daily lessons. At the same time, lessons in agriculture, horticul- 
ture, engineering and household economy show the application of science; 
and all are enforced by actual experiment. 

3. It trains in the elements of the arts themselves, and imparts such skill 
as to make the hands ready instruments of thoughtful brains. The drill of 
the shops, gardens, farm and household departments is made a part of a gen- 
eral education for usefulness, and insures a means of living to all who make 
good use of it. At the same time it preserves habits of industry and manual 
exertion, and cultivates a taste for rural and domestic pursuits. 



The State Agricultural College. 57 

4. It strives to increase our experimental knowledge of agriculture and 
horticulture. The provision for extensive and accurate researches, made by 
establishing the Experiment Station as a distinct department of the college, 
offers assurance of more definite results than can be obtained by ordinary 
methods. The professors of agriculture, horticulture, chemistry, botany, and 
veterinary science, together with the president of the college, form the Ex- 
periment Station council, by authority of which experiments are undertaken 
and carried on in the several departments, under the special supervision of 
the protessors. These touch " the physiology of plants and animals ; the di- 
seases to which they are severally subject, with remedies for the same; the 
chemical composition of useful plants at their different stages of growth ; the 
comparative advantages of rotative cropping as pursued under a varying se- 
ries of crops; the capacity of new plants or trees for acclimation; the an- 
alysis of soils and waters ; the chemical composition of manures, natural or 
artifical, with experiments to test their comparative effects on crops of differ- 
ent kinds ; the adaptation and value of forage plants and grasses ; the com- 
position and digestibility of the different kinds of food for domestic animals ; 
the scientific and economic questions involved in the production of butter 
and cheese ; and such other researches or experiments bearing directly on the 
the agricultural industry of the United States as may in each case be deemed 
advisable." 

The bulletins of the station, issued as often at least as once in three 
months, are sent, according to law, free of postage, to all newspapers in the 
State and to "such individuals actually engaged in farming as may request 
the same, and as far as the means of the station will permit." Correspond- 
ence with reference to bulletins and experiments is welcomed, and may be 
addressed to the several members of the council. 

5. It seeks to extend the influence of knowledge in practical affairs be- 
yond the college itself. For this purpose it publishes the weekly Industrialist 
Its officers also share in the debates and consultations of farmers and horti- 
culturists throughout the State. Each winter a series of at least 10 farmers' 
institutes is held in as many different counties of the State. In these the fac- 
ulty share with the people in lectures, essays and discussions upon topics of 
most interest to farmers. These institutes, held for the past 11 years, have 
brought the college into direct sympathy with the people and their work, so 
as to make possible a general dissemination of the truths presented ; and per- 
manent organizations for the same purpose in many counties are increasing. 
Correspondence upon such questions is invited by all members of the faculty, 
and applications for institutes are desired from all parts of the State. 

Course of Study. — Parallel courses of study are offered to both sexes, with 
such differences as their necessities seem to call for. The table of class hours 
on pages 58 and 59 gives, in brief, the relative scope of the two courses, but 
fuller explanations are found in the annual catalogue : 



58 



History of Education in Kansas. 





HRS. 


FIRST YEAR. 




I. 


Algebra. 


English. 


Algebra. 


Industrial. 


Drawing. 


1 


II. 


English. 


Algebra. 


Industrial. 


Drawing. 


English. 


s 
B 


III. 


Drawing. 


Industrial. 




English. 


Algebra. 


IV. 


Industrial. 


Drawing. 


English- 


Algebra. 


Drill and 
Ehetoricals. 




V. 


Drill and 
Ehetoricals. 


Drill and 
Ehetoricals. 


Drawing. 


Drill and 
Ehetoricals. 


Industrial. 




I. 


Drawing. 


Bookkeeping. 


Industrial. 


English 
Composition. 


Algebra. 


a; 


II. 


Bookkeeping. 


Industrial. 


English 
Composition. 


Algebra. 


Drawing. 




III. 


Industrial. 


English 
Structure. 


Algebra. 


Drawing. 


Bookkeeping. 


EH 


IV. 


English. 


Algebra. 


Drawing and 
Drill. 


Bookkeeping. 


English 
Structure. 


g 


V. 


Algebra. 


Drawing and 
Drill. 


Bookkeeping. 


Industrial. 


Industrial. 


IE 


I. 


Drawing. 


Algebra. 


Botany. 


Industrial. 


English 
Structure. 


0> 


II. 


Arithmetic. 


Botany. 


Industrial. 


English 
Structure. 


Algebra. 




III. 


U. S. History. 
Bookkeeping. 


Industrial. 


English 
Composition. 


Algebra. 


Botany. 


H 

g 

5 


IV. 


English. 


English 
Composition. 


Algebra. 


Botany. 


Industrial. 


50 


V. 


Geography. 


Drill and Ehetoricals. 



The industrial training of the course is especially calculated to develop in- 
genuity along the lines of every-day industries, and, supplemented by post- 
graduate study in the special arts, gives an excellent training for experts. 
The general course of four years leads to the degree of bachelor of science. 
Graduates may take the second degree, master of science, upon postgraduate 
study, examination, and thesis, after two years, if pursuing a postgraduate 
course in the college for at least one year, or after three years, if nonresident. 

The faculty of this college has an established reputation for thorough sci- 
entific training and research, and its trained graduates are sought as teachers 
and experimenters in applied science throughout the country. The present 
board of instruction and corps of the Experiment Station includes 35 per- 
sons, many of whom are widely known. 

Board of Instruction. 
Geobge T. Faibchild, A.M., President, Professor of Logic and Political Economy. 
Geobge H. Failyeb, M. S., Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy. 



The State Agricultural College. 



59 



SECOND TEAR. 


THIRD YEAR. 


FOURTH YEAR. 


Horticulture. 


Chemistry. 


Geometry. 


Industrial. 


General History. 
Trigonometry 
and Surveying. 


Agriculture. 
Literature. 


Chemistry. 


Horticulture. 


Industrial. 


Geometry. 


Industrial. 
General History. 


Psychology. 


Geometry. 


Industrial. 


Entomology. 


Chemistry. 


Trigonometry 

and Surveying.- 
Physiology. 


Physics. 
Industrial. 


Industrial. 


Geometry. 


Chemistry. 


Entomology. 


Physiology. 
Industrial. 


Industrial. 
Physics. 


Chemical Practice, Drill, and Rhetoricals. 


Surveying 
Practice. 
Drill. 


Drill and 
Rhetoricals. 


Agriculture. 


Geometry. 
Drawing. 


Household Economy. 


Agricultural 
Chemistry. 


Zoology. 


Or. Chemistry. 
Blow-pipe. 


Agriculture. 


Blow-pipe. 
Or. Chemistry. 


Drawing. 
Geometry. 


Industrial. 
Mechanics. 


Botany. 
Industrial. 


Industrial. 


Or. Chemistry. 
Blow-pipe. 


Industrial. 


Blow-pipe. 
Or. Chemistry. 


Mechanics. 
Rhetoric. 


Logic. 


Drawing. 
Geometry. 


Industrial. 
Mineralogy. 


Geometry. 
Drawing. 


Mineralogy. 
Industrial. 


Rhetoric. 
Industrial. 


Floriculture. 
Veterinary. 


Military 

Science. 
Mineralogy. 


Military 

Science. 
Industrial. 


Mineralogy. 
Military 
Science. 


Industrial. 
Military 
Science. 


Drill and 
Rhetoricals. 


Industrial. 
Botany. 


Entomology. 


Physiology. 


Analytical Chemistry. 


English 
Literature. 


Political 
Economy. 


Physiology. 


Entomology. 


Engineering. 
Hygiene. 


United States 
Constitution. 


Analytical Chemistry. 


Horticulture. 


Physiology. 


Physics. 
Industrial. 


Geology. 


Physiology. 


Horticulture. 


Industrial. 
Physics. 


Industrial. 


Military Science, Drill, Rhetoricals, and Dairying. 


Drawing. 
Rhetoricals. 


Rhetoricals. 



Oscar E. Olin, Professor of English Language and Literature. 

Mrs. Nellie S. Kedzie, M. S., Professor of Household Economy and Hygiene. 

Mrs. Elida E. Winchip, Superintendent of Sewing. 

Ozni P. Hood, B. S., Professor of Mathematics and Engineering, Superintendent of 

Workshops. 
Alexander B. Brown, A. M., Professor of Music. 
John S. C. Thompson, Superintendent of Printing. 

Francis H. White, A. M., Professor of History and Constitutional Law. 
Charles C. Georgeson, M. S., Professor of Agriculture, Superintendent of Farm. 
Edwin B. Bolton, Captain 23d U. S. Infantry, Professor of Military Science and 

Tactics. 
Ernest R. Nichols, A. M., Professor of Physics. 

Nelson S. Mayo, D.V. S., M.S., Professor of Physiology and Veterinary Science. 
Julius T. Willard, M. S., Assistant Professor of Chemistry. 
Albert S. Hitchcock, M. S., Professor of Botany. 
Silas C. Mason, B. S., Assistant Professor of Horticulture. 
Miss Josie C. Harper, Instructor in Mathematics. 
Miss Alice Rupp, Instructor in English. 



60 



History of Education in Kansas. 



Edwin A. Popenoe, A. M ., Professor of Horticulture and Entomology, Superintend- 
ent of Orchards and Gardens. 
David E. Lantz, M. S., Professor of Mathematics, Librarian. 
John D. Walters, M. S., Professor of Industrial Art and Designing. 
Ira D. Graham, B. S., Secretary, Instructor in Bookkeeping. 

Assistants and Foremen. 
C. M. Breese, M. S., Assistant in Chemistry. 
Julia R. Pierce, B. S., Assistant Librarian. 
Bessie B. Little, B. S., Assistant in Sewing. 
Grace M. Clark, B. S., Stenographer in Executive Offices. 
Wm. Baxter, Foreman of Greenhouse. 
W. L. House, Foreman of Carpenter Shop. 

E. Harold, Foreman of Iron Shop. 
C. A. Gundaker, Engineer. 

A. C. McCreart, Janitor. 

Assistants in Experiment Station. 

F. A. Marlatt, B. S., Entomology. 
Wm. Shelton, Foreman of Farm. 
F. C. Burtis, B. S., Agriculture. 
M. A. Carleton, B. S., Botany. 

Students. — The whole number of students enrolled since 1863 is 4,310, of 
whom 2,871 are young men from the farms and shops, nearly all of whom 
have returned to their work after one or more years of study. The gradu- 
ates number 320, of whom 215 are young men. 

The annual attendance for 16 years indicates a gratifying development of 
the work of the college: 



1877 


1878 


1879 


1880 


1881 


1882 


1883 


1884 


1885 


1886 


1887 


1888 


1889 


1890 


1891 


1892 


228 


238 


207 


276 


267 


312 


347 


395 


401 


428 


485 


472 


445 


514 


593 


584 



MEANS OF ILLUSTRATION. 



Agriculture. — One hundred and eighty-five acres of land, used for farm 
purposes, with hundreds of plats under experiment in grain, grasses, and for- 
age crops, and illustrating various methods of culture and rotation. A barn 
50x75 feet, expressly arranged for experimental uses; and connected with it, 
a general-purpose barn, 48 x 96 feet, for grain, hay, horses, and cattle. Both 
buildings are of stone, and are provided with steam power, and equipped with 
improved machinery for shelling, grinding, threshing, cutting for the silo, and 
steaming. Two piggeries, one of 10 pens, for experimental uses, and one of 
six pens, with separate yards, for general purposes. An implement house 
22x50 feet, of two stories, and corn cribs. Shorthorn, Aberdeen-Angus, 
Hereford, Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle, Berkshire and Poland-China 
swine, and Shropshire sheep. Farm implements of improved patterns. Col- 
lections of grains, grasses, and forage plants. Buildings, stock and equip- 
ments valued at $26,000. 

Horticulture and Entomology. — Orchards containing 100 varieties of ap- 



The State Agricultural College. 61 

pies, 30 of peaches, 20 of plums, 30 of cherries, 30 of pears, and 5 of apricots. 
Small-fruit garden, with 200 varieties of small fruit, including blackberries, 
raspberries, gooseberries, currants, and strawberries; and vineyard with 160 
varieties of grapes. Forest plantation of 12 acres, containing 20 varieties, of 
from one to 20 years' growth. Ornamental grounds, 30 acres, set with a va- 
riety of evergreens and deciduous trees. Sample rows, containing about 150 
varieties of ornamental trees and shrubs, labeled. Vegetable garden, with 
hotbeds and cold frames, and experimental beds. Practice rows for stu- 
dents' budding, grafting, cultivating, and pruning. Well-planned and fur- 
nished greenhouses and propagating pits, nine rooms, with a collection of 
native and exotic plants. Museum, containing a collection of woods from 
American forests, and a large series of specimens in economic and general 
entomology. Value of property, exclusive of orchards and grounds, $13,000. 

Chemistry and Mineralogy. — Eight rooms, fitted with tables and appa- 
ratus for a class of 80 students in qualitative analysis, 16 in quantitative 
analysis, including necessary facilities for assaying, with a mineralogical 
collection and general illustrative apparatus. Value, exclusive of building, 
$8,000. 

Geology, Zoology, and Veterinary Science. — A general museum, well fitted 
with cases, containing valuable collections of mounted Kansas mammals and 
birds, with mounted skeletons of wild and domestic animals. The largest 
collection of Kansas fishes and mollusks in the State. Kansas reptiles and 
batrachians, salt-water fishes and invertebrates, in alcohol. Collections of 
Mound-builders' and Indian relics. Kansas fossils and rocks, typical of the 
geological ages found in the State. A laboratory, fitted with apparatus and 
re-agents, for the study of disease. A collection of charts, mopels, and ana- 
tomical preparations, illustrating healthy and diseased structure. Value, in- 
cluding general museum, $6,500. 

Botany. — A general herbarium, consisting of a large collection of plants 
of the United States and other countries ; a Kansas herbarium, containing 
specimens illustrating the distribution and variation of plants throughout the 
State; also, 28 compound microscopes, four dissecting microscopes, tools, re- 
agents, etc. Valued at $3,500. 

Drawing. — Models, plaster casts, patterns, charts, easels, and implements. 
Valued at $1,400. 

Physics. — Complete physical apparatus for general instruction in physics, 
and meteorological instruments, including a self-recording anemometer. The 
value of the whole is $4,000. 

Mechanics and Engineering. — Carpenter shop, with 44 benches, and separ- 
ate kits of tools for 220 students, besides lathes, mortising machines, circular 
saws, planer, friezer, boring machine, grinder* and general chest of tools for 
fine work. Power furnished by a 10 horse power Atlas engine. Shops for 
metal work, containing 16 blacksmith forges, brass foundry of 12 benches, 
and large furnace for brass ; iron foundry, with two-ton cupola ; machine shop, 



62 History of Education in Kansas. 

equipped for 30 students, including, besides hand tools, lathes, drills, planer, 
etc. Inventory of materials and apparatus in both shops, $13,000. 

Mathematics a)id Surveying. — Transits, plane table, compasses, levels, chains, 
models, etc. Valued at $1,300. 

Kitchen Laboratory, with ranges, cooking utensils, dining-room furnishings, 
dairy furniture. Valued at $800. 

Printing Office, with 30 pairs of cases; large fonts of 6-point, 8-point, 
10-point and 11-point Roman type; a good assortment of job type and brass 
rule; a Babcock cylinder press, with steam power; a new Liberty quarter- 
medium job press, and a Gordon eighth-medium job press; a mitering ma- 
chine, a rule-curving machine, and a paper-cutter. Value of equipment, 
$4,200. 

Sewing Rooms, with eight machines, models, patterns, and cases. Value, 



• Music Rooms, with five pianos, four organs, other instruments, and nine 
charts. Valued at $1,750. 

Armory, containing 150 stands of arms (breech-loading cadet rifles, cali- 
ber .45), with accouterments ; two 3-inch rifled guns; also swords, uniforms, 
etc. Value, exclusive of arms, $1,000. 

Library. — The college library consists of over 12,000 bound volumes and 
about 4,000 pamphlets, and is valued at $23,000. It has been selected mainly 
with a view to supplementing the class-room instruction in the various depart- 
ments. All the books are indexed in a card catalogue, so that the resources 
of the library upon any subject may be readily learned. All students have 
free access to the bookshelves, and may draw the books for home use, under 
simple and liberal regulations. 



SPECIAL SCHOOLS. 

Soldiers' Orphans' Home, Atchison: 3 teachers, 126 pupils. 

Asylum for Idiotic and Imbecile Youth, Winfleld; 3 teachers, 100 pupils. 

School for Deaf and Dumb, Olathe; 15 teachers, 285 pupils. 

Industrial School for G-irls, Beloit; 8 teachers, 101 pupils. 

Keform School for Boys, Topeka; 5 teachers, 220 pupils. 

School for Blind, Kansas City; 5 teachers, 82 pupils. 

soldiers' orphans' home.* 

The work of the past two years (1891-'92) has been interesting and en- 
couraging. Health conditions have been excellent, a spirit of contentment 
has prevailed among the children, and commendable progress has been made 
in the schools. Since the opening of the home, 220 children have been re- 
ceived into its care, of whom 118 remain at this date. The institution has 
now reached an age when the changes in population will be more frequent,, 
but the present accommodations are insufficient to meet the demand which 
comes from all parts of the State for the admission of dependent, neglected 
and abandoned children. The applications for the admission of soldiers* 

* Extracts from official report of C E. Faulkner, Superintendent. 



Special Schools. 63 

children exceed the capacity of the institution. The greater portion of this 
class of children have one parent living, and the larger portion of children 
discharged from the home are returned to the care of parents or relatives. 
If the accommodations at the institution were enlarged so as to permit the 
reception of all children who are eligible to admission under the provisions of 
the law, the full orphans and extremely destitute children would rapidly pass 
into comfortable homes opened for them under the sections of the law provid- 
ing for the adoption and indenture of children, and a valuable purpose of the 
institution be thus fully developed. Under present conditions, the applica- 
tions for children from people of good standing and possessed of comfortable 
homes are in excess of the number of children at our full disposal. Every 
principle of sound political economy demands that every dependent and 
abandoned child in Kansas should be placed under the influence of a proper 
home training at the earliest possible day. Waiving every consideration of 
gratitude to the loyal soldier, or of sympathy for our dependent child popu- 
lation, the home can safely rest its claim for enlargement and support upon 
the practical ground of being an agency for lessening crime and its accom- 
panying burden of taxation, and for adding to the public wealth through its 
contributions to the cause of good citizenship. 

The Home. — The freedom of home life has been recognized in the manage- 
ment of the institution, so far as conveniences and conditions would permit, 
and the result is shown in a satisfactory degree of contentment among the 
children. The sum of $11,000, appropriated by the last Legislature, has been 
expended under the direction of the Board of Public Works, and the conven- 
iences afforded add greatly to the comfort of the children. An enlargement 
of the home to a capacity for caring for 350 children will permit the admis- 
sion of all worthy applicants, and secure such a development of the process 
of home finding as will enable it to meet all demands made upon its resources 
for shelter, training, and education, in the years to come. 

The Schools. — The kindergarten is established in comfortable quarters in 
the new addition. The main schoolroom, which also serves the purpose of a 
chapel, is 25x47 feet in size, contains 84 desks, and can not be further 
crowded. Commendable progress is being made by the pupils in school 
work, and the routine of study is relieved by frequent details of grades for 
farm and household work. 

ASYLUM FOR IDIOTIC AND IMBECILE YOUTH.* 

We have received into the institution, during the year 1892, 17 inmates. 
The causes of imbecility are given, as follows: Sickness, 9; heredity, 6; 
fright, 1 ; prenatal influences, 1. During the term we have discharged 5 ; 
7 have been removed by parents and 6 by death. Causes of death : Epi- 
lepsy, 4; consumption, 1; pneumonia, 1. 

We have on file 140 applications, most of them of poor parentage, and 
should be cared for. We need buildings to accommodate 200 more than we 

* Extracts from official report of C. K. Wiles, superintendent. 



64 History of Education in Kansas. 

now have. I believe it to be the duty of every State to care for its unfortu- 
nates, and I know of none more so than the feeble-minded. What more piti- 
ful than to see a human being with the physique of a man and the mind of 
a child entirely at the mercy of thoughtless or ill-meaning people? Espe- 
cially are our sympathies aroused for the girls of this class. Cared for and 
protected, they may become in a measure useful and self-supporting, and cer- 
tainly happy ; neglected, they are at the mercy of the vicious. 

The health of the inmates of the institution has been remarkably good 
for the past two years, with the exception of epidemics of la grippe and ton- 
silitis, which were unavoidable, owing to the crowded condition of the build- 
ing. Every epidemic shows us the need of hospital wards. 

The work in the schoolrooms has been marked by a great improvement 
over last year. Some pupils who have never before manifested any interest 
in books are now learning to read, while others have advanced to the third 
and fourth readers. 

Some of the girls have become quite expert with the needle and in all 
branches of housework. They delight in singing and all kinds of physical 
exercises. 



This is an institution supported by the State for educating gratuitously all 
deaf children, or those whose degree of deafness is great enough to preclude 
their receiving an education in the public schools of the State. The institu- 
tion ie not, as is often erroneously supposed, a sanitarium for the curing of 
deafness, nor yet an asylum or retreat for the deaf and dumb, but an educa- 
tional and industrial school, designed to fit deaf-mutes for citizenship and 
usefulness. 

Character. — The institution is distinctively an educational one, and it is 
•expected of both officers and pupils that their greatest energy while connected 
with it will be directed to an end consistent with the character of the estab- 
lishment. 

Course of Study. — The common branches are taught by trained specialists, 
according to tried methods that have been successfully used in similar schools 
of this country, England and France for years. The sign language — the 
natural language of all deaf-mutes — is used as a means of instruction, but 
not as an end. It has been proved beyond question that, as an awakener of 
the intellect and dormant faculties, as the nearest approach to the free and 
unlimited expression of ideas, possible otherwise only by ability to hear, as a 
means for increasing one's general information, and admitting of sociality 
and debate, mind against mind, there has not yet been produced an accept- 
able substitute. In addition to the regular course of instruction, the insti- 
tution undertakes to teach, as an accomplishment, articulate speech and 
"lip reading," to such of the pupils as seem by perseverance and quickness 
of vision, or by previous activity of vocal organs, to be peculiarly fitted to 

* Extracts from official report of S. T. Walker, Superintendent. 



Special Schools. 65 

master this branch. One teacher devotes her whole time to this specialty. 
The aim will be in this direction, as in all others, to adopt and carry forward 
all practical methods that will advance the education of the deaf, and make 
them intelligent, independent, upright, moral, law-abiding citizens, rather than 
a future burden upon charity. 

The school has 10 grades, and the course of study, which we attempt to 
adhere to as closely as circumstances will admit, is as follows : 

Fibst Gbade. — Language. Numerical adjectives to 20. Penmanship. 

Second Gbade. — Language. Arithmetic — combinations of concrete numbers 
from 1 to 10, with problems in signs and written language suitable to the class. 

Thtbd Gbade. — -Language. Arithmetic — combinations of numbers from 1 to 
25; teaching one-half, one-third and one-fourth of a number and of a unit; begin the 
use of figures. Penmanship. 

Foubth Gbade. — Language. Arithmetic — numbers from 1 to 50 (Miss Barton's 
book as a guide). Geography — general outline; division of land and water; geog- 
raphy of Kansas. 

Fifth Gbade. — -Language. Arithmetic — numbers above 50; United States cur- 
rency; tables of weights and measures (Miss Barton's book as a guide). Geography 
— using a text-book. Geography of Kansas completed. History — simple language 
lessons containing historical facts. Penmanship. 

Sixth Gbade. — Language. Arithmetic — common fractions; general review of 
problems involving all the principles taught (Miss Barton's book as a guide). 
Geography — completed. History — United States, text-book used in the hands of 
the class as a guide. 

Seventh Gbade. — Language. Arithmetic — -decimal fractions; compound num- 
bers; percentage. History — United States, completed. 

Eighth Gbade. — Elements of grammar. Arithmetic reviewed. Physical geog- 
raphy. Natural history. 

Ninth Gbade. — -Grammar and language construction. General history. Physi- 
ology (elements). Botany (elements). Physical geography. Arithmetic. 

Tenth Gbade.— Composition, grammar, physics, natural philosophy, English 
history, lectures. 

Not all succeed in completing the full course, which ordinarily comprises 
10 years, though sometimes a very bright student will complete it in less time. 

For the higher education of deaf-mutes, Congress has liberally provided 
in the National Deaf-Mute College? at Washington, D. C, where a complete 
•curriculum is given to those- students who are advanced sufficiently to enter. 

At the close of the present year we graduated three students who are can- 
didates for the college course, provided they find that they are financially able 
to bear the attending expense in the way of travel, books, etc. 

Aside from their class duties, our teachers are required to render service in 
any way that will elevate or improve the pupils. This they have acquiesced 
in, and usually with a most willing and commendable spirit. These addi- 
tional duties usually assume the form of monitorial duties on Sundays for the 
relief of supervisors, Sunday lectures, Sunday school, evening study hour, 
prayer meetings, monthly lectures, weekly readings, literary societies, holi- 
day committee work, etc. 

The various literary societies and athletic clubs have maintained their in- 
—5 



66 History of Education in Kansas. 

terest and have grown into established features of the school. They have 
their contests and debates, which are seasons of as much interest as are like 
events in schools for hearing youth. The annual " field day," when an elabo- 
rate program of outdoor sports is rendered, both for our own and the inter- 
est of the public, may be claimed as an original feature of this institution, 
which is being adopted by several institutions of this kind. Our deaf boys 
frequently excel in athletic sports, and our ball clubs have frequently van- 
quished outside clubs who have challenged them. These sports are encour- 
aged, but are rigidly limited so as not in any way to interfere with the other 
legitimate departments. 

The art department continues to prove the wisdom of its establishment as 
a means for cultivating any hidden aesthetic taste in that direction, and of de- 
veloping many who would otherwise never have shown special ability. 

Industrial. — Connected with and a part of the general educational work 
of the institution is an industrial department, where, at some period during 
the course, technical instruction is given. The trades thus far introduced 
are printing, cabinet-making, carpentry, shoemaking, and baking. Practical 
work is required, and, as a result, there is in the printing office a weekly paper 
printed by the pupils, called the Kansas Star, giving news of the institution 
such as interests parents and friends of pupils ; in the cabinet shop, very cred- 
itable furniture; and in the shoe shop, boots and shoes, and what repairing 
there is needed by the pupils. The girls are taught to perform such house- 
hold work as wise mothers would impart to them at home, as washing dishes, 
setting tables, mending clothes, and using the needle and sewing machine. 
The object is solely to inculcate industrious habits, give a limited amount of 
physical employment, and impart technical knowledge that cannot be other- 
wise than helpful in future life. 

The good and obedient student will find in his school life much that is 
pleasant with little that is irksome, and the enforced regularity of institution 
life becomes a pleasurable existence. But the bad and unruly will find that 
to change their habits will be a necessity, in order to continue receiving the 
advantages so generously bestowed by the State. In no instance will the 
wholesome discipline and pure social atmosphere, which it is our constant 
endeavor to maintain, be threatened, without suitable action being taken by 
the superintendent. 

The Cause of Deafness. — An assignable cause for congenital deafness is a 
difficult matter to successfully trace; so much so that science has not yet de- 
termined, beyond question, the causes of even a majority of such cases. The 
student of statistics of aural troubles has, however, arrived at a few general 
conclusions usually accepted as theoretically correct. The first of these is, 
that in cases of adventitious or post-natal deafness, assigned causes are in the 
majority of cases traceable to a specific disease, or accident. The second is, 
that in congenital or pre-natal cases, the causes, while subject to speculation, 
are believed to be arrested development of the auricular organs. To go far- 
ther, and discover the causes for arrested development, leads us into a field of 



Special Schools. 



67 



speculation which has not yet been sufficiently cultivated to produce satis- 
factory results. While on the one hand I might ascribe to consanguineous 
marriage the direct or remote responsibility for a large proportion of deafness , 
on the other hand a multitude of other hereditary, predisposing causes might, 
with as much right, be cited. 

These are questions that cannot be arrived at suddenly, but only after long 
and patient research. It is to aid in the solution of such problems that the 
assistance of the much-abused census enumerator is called into requisition, 
and we have hopes that the pending returns concerning special classes will 
be of sufficient completeness to form the basis for definite and important con- 
clusions in regard to such interesting questions. Upon compiling the as- 
signed causes of adventitious deafness, it was discovered that 38 different 
causes were assigned in 406 reported cases, and that of the total enrollment 
of the school, 182 out of 598 were reported as having been born deaf, or only 
about 32 per cent, of the whole number reported. 

The age at which deafness occurred is shown, as reported, in the following 
table : 



Born deaf 182 

Under one year of age 57 

Two years and under three 90 

Three years and under four 45 

Four years and under five 37 

Five years and under six 18 

Six years and under seven 11 

Seven years and under eight 5 



Eight years and under nine 7 

Nine years and under ten 2 

Ten years and under eleven 5 

Eleven years and under twelve 5 

Twelve years and under thirteen 2 

At eighteen years of age 1 

Not reported 43. 



INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS. 

The school, consisting of 38 girls and five officers, moved into the build- 
ing erected by the State on October 10, 1890. New girls were received after 
October 31, most of whom were destitute, and totally without resources in use- 
ful pursuits. The teaching force was taxed to the utmost to give direction to 
so much untrained energy. On October 10, 1891, we doubled the number of 
the same date for 1890, and, with 76 girls, were obliged to keep closed doors 
to all applicants until our facilities were increased. 

From the appropriation of 1891, extensions have been made in lavatory, 
in dormitory, and in kitchen, which, completed with the close of this June, 
will, when furnished, enable us to care for 100 girls. Enrolling as rapidly as 
room has been given us, we now have (June 30, 1892) 88. The applications 
on file will cause an overflow during the next few months, and while many 
winning their honors will be sent to homes throughout the State, yet the ap- 
plications for admittance will still outnumber the vacancies created by the 
outgoing girls. 

Management. — For convenience in instruction and in household economy, 
the school is organized into two divisions, known as the A and the B families. 
The advancement in school grades determines the family division. The A 
family is detailed for home industries during the forenoon, and the B dur- 



* Extracts from official report of Martha P. Spencer, superintendent. 



es 



History of Education in Kansas. 



ing the afternoon. The greatest aid to discipline is the Christian love of 
the teachers, developing at once a sense of honor and a love for home. The 
intellectual and spiritual powers are quickened, and, with no reminders of 
their sad history, the girls soon realize this to be their opportunity to know 
the possibilities of true, useful womanhood. 

The school has been carefully graded, each grade from 1 to 6-A being 
represented. Every pupil has the training of the schoolroom 4} hours each 
day. Much attention has been given to vocal music, while rhetoricals are a 
monthly feature of the school work. 

The age at admission to this school has been as follows : 



Eight years 2 

Nine years 3 

Ten years 5 

Eleven years 6 

Twelve years 6 



Thirteen years 7 

Fourteen years 9 

Fifteen years _20 

Total 58 



The parentage of girls admitted to this school is shown in the following 
table : 



PABENTAGE. . 


Father. 


Mother. 


Both. 


Total. 










7 




3 


12 




15 




2 






2 




2 




3 
13 


3 






13 






3 


Imbecile ! 


1 


1 



STATE REFORM SCHOOL. 

At the eighteenth session of the Legislature, convened January 14, 1879, 
an act was passed providing for a State reform school, from which we quote 
part of the second and twelfth sections, as follows : 

Sec. 2. The Board of State Charitable Institutions shall have supervision and 
control of the State Reform School. 

Sec. 12. The said board shall, on or before the fifteenth day of December, eight- 
een hundred and eighty, make to the Governor a full, complete and detailed report 
of all their proceedings and transactions from the time of their organization to the 
date of their report; also, said board shall draw and submit with their report a law 
such as they shall deem to be for the best government and management of the State 
Reform School in all its departments, the same to be transmitted by the Governor 
to the Legislature at its sitting in eighteen hundred and eighty-one. 

In accordance with the provisions of this act, the Board of Trustees of the 
State Charitable Institutions, after a careful study of the subject, formulated 
the following conclusions, as a basis for the important work committed to 
their hands, and as a desirable guide to legislative action in the adoption of 
a law for the management of the institution, viz. : 

1. A reform school is an institution the distinctive feature of which is 
character building, and it belongs to the educational, rather than to the penal, 
department of the State government. 



Special Schools. 69 

2. The work of a reform school is to receive, discipline and educate the 
following classes of juveniles, fitting them for return to parents or friends, or 
to enter homes provided for them, viz.: First, those bereft of their natural 
guardians, and left exposed and neglected; second, those who are truants 
from home and school, and are incorrigible to ordinary authority; third, those 
who live idle, vagrant lives, and whose influence and example are bad, and 
tend to corrupt others; fourth, those who are offenders against the law, but 
not hardened by criminal practices. 

3. The discipline of a reform school should be that which is incident to a 
well-governed family; the law of kindness should be its guiding principle, 
and the developed manhood of the pupil its promise of success ; and all who 
are insensible to efforts of this character are not proper subjects for reforma- 
tory treatment. 

4. What is known as the "family plan" of reform-school management 
commends itself, by accomplished facts, as the most intelligent and successful 
system in practice; and from the proper standpoint, that the true measure of 
economy is the speedy reformation of the pupil, it is the most economical sys- 
tem yet devised. 

5. In the construction of the buildings and the arrangement of the grounds, 
no restraints should be provided. Walls, cells, bars, bolts, grates, and screens 
should be omitted from the general plan. 

6. Separate institutions should be provided for the sexes, and the school 
provided for by the present law should be exclusively for boys. 

7. A carefully-guarded indenture system should be provided for in the 
draft of the law to govern the institution, which shall comprise a system of 
supervision over the indentured pupil by local agents, who shall also aid in 
securing proper homes for the pupils, and otherwise assist in giving due effect 
to the laws governing the system. This labor may properly be confined to 
the county superintendents of public instruction in the several counties of the 
State. 

8. The maximum age of admission should be 16 years, and the mini- 
mum age eight years, subject to exceptions in the discretion of the board of 
trustees. 

9. Forms of trial should be avoided when practicable ; commitments should 
be during minority, and the power to discharge earlier should be vested in the 
trustees alone, upon satisfactory evidence of reformation, and that a proper 
home is provided, or in cases where the best interests of the school demand 
the expulsion of a refractory pupil who is not amenable to reformatory treat- 
ment. 

The substance of these conclusions was incorporated in a draft of a law 
prepared in accordance with the requirements of section 12 of the act of 1879, 
which was submitted in a report of the board to the Governor, and by him 
presented to the Legislature which convened in 1881. The Legislature saw 
fit to amend, in some particulars, the draft of the law submitted for its con- 



70 Histoid/ of Education in Kansas. 

sideratiou, but enacted a law for the government of the institution, which took 
effect March 13, 1881. . * 

The institution was located by the board of trustees, in 1879, about three 
miles north of the city of Topeka, on 160 acres of land donated by Shawnee 
county and the city of Topeka. A commodious and pleasant double-cottage 
building of brick and stone was erected and furnished, and the school was 
opened for the reception of pupils on June 1, 1881, under the management of 
J. G. Eckles, superintendent, and Mrs. Eckles, as matron. The first pupils, 
two boys from Jackson county, were admitted June 6. Superintendent Eckles 
remained in charge until March 1, 1882, at which time J. F. Buck assumed 
the duties of superintendent, and his wife those of matron. 

During the first biennial period, the number of pupils was limited to 40, 
owing to the small appropriation for care and maintenance. This number 
was afterwards increased to 96 — all that could be accommodated in the first 
building. The Legislature of 1885 made an appropriation for the erection of 
two cottages, a chapel building, and a laundry. The cottages provided ac- 
commodations for 62 boys each, making a total of 220 pupils. With a very 
little variation, this has been the number in the school from the completion 
of the cottages to the present time. 

The additions named above are all that have been made to the school, so 
the following description of the buildings, taken from a report of Superintend- 
ent Buck, is still correct: 

The main or central building is 122 feet long by 60 feet in width; three 
stories in height above the basement. In the basement are located a kitchen, 
pantries, refrigerator, employes' dining room, two play rooms, and a bath room. 
On the first floor are located offices, parlor, superintendent's dining room, and 
two schoolrooms. On the second floor are officers' rooms, guest rooms, store- 
rooms, and sewing room. The third floor is occupied as dormitories for 96 
boys, and is provided with a wardrobe and two closets. 

To the main building there is connected, on the north, by an iron-covered 
corridor 50 feet in length, a boys' dining hall and chapel building, 46 feet 
wide and 120 feet long. The first floor affords a spacious dining hall, with 
china closet, pantry, and serving room. On the second floor are the chapel 
and library. Across the north end and adjoining the dining hall is a kitchen 
building, 40 by 85 feet. On the first floor are the kitchen, milk room, pantry, 
cold storage and storerooms. On the second floor are 11 bedrooms, two large 
wardrobes, and a bath room. 

One hundred and eighty-five feet to the rear of the kitchen building is 
situated a laundry building 26 feet wide and 60 feet long, with a building 
across the north end, in which are the ironing and dry rooms, shoe shop, band 
room, and engineer's department. In the basement are engine, boiler, and coal 
rooms. 

A brick tower, 52 feet high, has been erected west of the laundry, which 
supports a tank holding 500 barrels of water. From this, water is carried 



Special Schools. 71 

through pipes to all parts of the several buildings, giving a protection against 
fire, and furnishing a full supply for all purposes. 

On each side of the main building, and at a distance of 125 feet from it, 
is a cottage. Each of these is three stories high above the basement, and will 
accommodate 62 boys. In the basement is a large play room, closets, and 
bath room for the boys. The bath room is supplied with both hot and cold 
water. On the first floor is a spacious schoolroom, library, and family rooms 
for the officer in charge. On the second and third floors are the boys' dor- 
mitories and wardrobes. The buildings are heated throughout by steam. 
Steam, water and gas pipes are carried through a tunnel from the boiler 
house to the different buildings. 

At the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, Doctor Buck re- 
signed, and W. E. Fagan was appointed superintendent. Mr. Fagan at this 
writing is still in charge. 

The course of study in the institution is about the same as that in village 
graded schools. The boys, as a class, are not as far advanced in their studies 
as the average boy of the same age, the most of them having played truant 
too often, or refused to attend school at all ; but, after entering, they learn 
quite as rapidly as their companions at home. They attend school 4 hours 
and 30 minutes each school day, and have the same number of hours of work. 
A band of 16 members, and a reserve of an equal number of boys, receive 
instruction in instrumental music. 

Up to the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892, 503 boys had 
passed through the school and were honorably discharged. Of these, 70 per 
cent, are known to be doing well; of 16 per cent, the authorities were unable 
to obtain any information after they left the institution ; and 14 per cent, have 
returned to a criminal life. 

The estimated value of the State property is : Land, $48,000 ; buildings, 
$85,000; personal property, $19,000— total, $152,000. 



With all the hindrances necessitated by the many changes in officers and 
teachers, I have the pleasure of reporting to you a successful school year. 
Great interest and energy have been manifested by both teachers and pupils, 
and rapid advancement has been the result. The general deportment has 
been excellent, and while there have been many annoying circumstances, 
there was not, during the last school year, a case of corporal punishment, 
suspension, or expulsion. 

Parents and pupils alike have been kindly considerate of the good name 
and welfare of the school, and their aid and cooperation have had much to 
do in bringing about the harmonious feeling existing. 

Our work, like all other schools of the same kind, is divided into three 
departments — literary, musical, and industrial — and a word in reference to 
each may not be out of place. 

* Extracts from official report of Lapier Williams, superintendent. 



72 History of Education in Kansas. 

Our literary work covers a period of 10 years, divided for convenience- 
into the four departments — primary, intermediate, grammar, and high schooL 
The course embraces point reading and writing, language, descriptive and 
physical geography, United States and general history, arithmetic, algebra,, 
physiology, constitution, English literature, rhetoric, physics, and geometry. 

The manner in which these branches are handled by the pupils would not 
be only surprising but gratifying to the teachers of the public schools of our 
State. 

Our musical department is presided over by Mrs. M. C. Lewis. The pu- 
pils receive instruction on the pianoforte, the violin, the 'cello, together with 
harmony and thorough bass. Vocal instruction is also given. 

In both the literary and musical departments we believe good work is be- 
ing done, and while we do not claim perfection, we do think we have reason 
to feel proud of these departments. We think we are growing, and new 
methods are constantly sought, and applied when found practicable. 

Our industrial department is the weakest of the three — not in the quality 
of work done, but in variety — and I desire especially to call your attention 
to this department. 

Upon taking charge, the 1st of January, 1892, I found but one trade 
taught — that of broonr" making. Since that time we have added hammock 
and horse-net weaving, and, although done on a very small scale, it has 
proven to be a decided success. So far as our work in the broom shop is 
concerned, it is thorough, but in order to keep pace with the institutions of 
other States, we must add cane seating and mattress making. 

After careful consideration of the subject, I believe the time has come 
when piano-forte tuning should have a place among the trades taught, and 
the appropriation should be sufficiently large to admit of this. It will re- 
quire an extra teacher and, the necessary models and apparatus. 

The girls have had nothing whatever to do in an industrial way. They 
have not been taught even plain sewing. The coming year we expect to 
teach plain sewing, darning, crocheting, and bead work. 

The physical development of blind children is a matter that should be 
considered seriously. By careful investigation, you will find four fifths of 
these children with flaccid muscles, catarrhal and scrofulous tendencies, with 
no disposition, but a strong aversion, to any bodily exercise. We do what 
we can to counteract this, but all who have had experience know that it takes 
systematic work to reach any well-defined results. 

A well-equipped gymnasium supplies this want in most of the blind schools 
of the country, but is entirely wanting in this institution. Let me quote 
from the Texas report of 1891: 

Blind persons, from the age of reason to the grave, are less inclined to activity 
than sighted persons. If left to their own inclination, little exercise would ever be 
taken. Mental culture can never be attained to a desirable extent unless the body- 
be kept somewhat active during the educational process. It is a difficult matter 
for a sightless person to take outdoor exercise; hence, we provide for this on the 



Special Schools. 73 

inside, by the aid of calisthenics. The use of Indian clubs, dumb bells, wands, 
rings, free gymnastics, military evolutions and the manual of arms is of great help 
in the way of wholesome exercise. These movements are kept up every day, Satur- 
days and Sundays excepted. Ladders and horizontal bars are placed in the lawn 
for the boys. Calisthenics makes the children stronger, more agile, more graceful, 
and healthier. It teaches them how to be more active in their movements, and how 
to get about with less trouble. Physical education should go hand in hand with 
school- room work, and we should afford, as far as possible, ample facilities for de- 
veloping the physique of every blind child, that it may grow strong, and active, and 
healthy, and be able to laugh and play and eat well; then it can study, and will 
study, and gives better results. A stout, active, healthy blind man, well balanced in 
mind and fairly or fully educated, takes a place as a peer among his fellow-men. 



private IRormal Scboote, 



Campbell Noemal University, Holton; 14 teachers, 445 pupils. 
Central Normal College, Great Bend; 13 teachers, 406 pupils. 
Harper Normal School, Harper; 6 teachers, 125 pupils. 
Kansas Normal College, Fort Scott; 12 teachers, 725 pupils. 
Modern Normal College, Marysville; 3 teachers, 20 pupils. 
Salina Normal University, Salina; 19 teachers, 635 pupils. 

TN accepting the invitation to write a brief history of the private normal 
-*- schools of Kansas, I assure the reader that it has been done with no small 
degree of reluctance. I am well aware that obstacles are in the way which 
it is not easy to surmount. Difficulties seem to be on every hand. Facts 
and data have not been obtained, except as gleaned from the catalogues of 
the institutions represented, and these are meager. A personal knowledge 
obtained as student and instructor will form the basis upon which will be pre- 
sented the place which' these institutions occupy in the great fabric of our 
school system. I am mindful, too, that there exists in the minds of some a 
prejudice which will be hard to remove, and yet with these I am forbearing, 
and am led to believe that their intellectual horizon is getting larger, and that 
the brilliant light emanating from these private schools will some day illumine 
the dark and gloomy sanctum of their mental abode. 

There no longer exists in the minds of progressive educators a doubt as to 
the place which private schools hold in the educational system of the State. 
Ever since the introduction of the first school, private normal training has 
been gaining in popularity and its usefulness becoming more apparent. The 
private normal schools of Kansas are a part of a branch of the independent 
system of instruction instituted by Pres. Alfred Holbrook, Lebanon, Ohio, 
more than a quarter of a century ago, and which has done so much to make 
flexible the rigid and tenacious dead-language courses in the universities of 
our country. In fact, the Holbrook system of normal training is the "new 
education" which has taken such a deep root in the republic, and has modi- 
fied the university course into something more tangible and practicable for 
the American youth. 

Such a system is the one founded in Kansas. The climate and soil are 
well adapted to the introduction and growth of new ideas. The educational 
development of the State has gone forward at a surprisingly rapid rate. 
Much of the. phenomenal growth is due to the impetus given by the private 
normal schools. Ever since the establishment of the first normal school in 
the State, a decided change in the methods and management in teaching is 
noticeable. The pedagogue in the earlier days of the State was much like 

* By H. N. Gaines, State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

(74) 



Private Normal Schools. 75 

the mystic beings so well portrayed in the histories of the profession. He 
seemed to be possessed with unknown lore, which was to be administered 
to others in broken and homeopathic doses. How different, now! To-day 
the Kansas pedagogue takes his place with the leading teachers of the age. 
But what has brought about this change? In the advancement of the edu- 
cational interests of this great commonwealth, I do not wish to claim all the 
praise and glory for the private normals, yet it is not my intention to omit 
the merit which is justly due them. Let the principles upon which they are 
founded be submitted, their management made known, the class of students 
who attend them be reviewed, and the work which their graduates are doing 
be placed before the reader, and he can judge for himself the place the 
schools occupy in the great educational system of the State, and the effect 
their work will have on future generations. 

In the system of training generally known as the "old education," the 
theory was held that each part should be thoroughly learned before the pupil 
should attempt to use the whole, while on the other hand the "new educa- 
tion" holds to the theory that as soon as the first principle of anything is 
learned it should be used ; that the way to learn a thing is to do the thing ; 
that by the time the parts are learned, the whole is perfected, thus gaining 
nearly one-half in time. Take, for illustration, the subject of elocution. 
There is the one school that trains the pupil in gestures until he can make 
graceful and beautiful curves at every command of the teacher; it trains him 
how to draw his face into various shapes and expressions, after the manner of 
his tutor ; it fits him to produce all the tones of the human voice, from the 
deep, sonorous sounds of the orotund to the high, sharp notes of the falsetto ; 
his voice is made to follow his instructor through all the concrete and discreet 
movements, until it sounds like the warbling tones of the nightingale. Thus 
the work is continued until every part is learned. Then comes the part of 
learning to read or putting into practice the principles acquired. Up to this 
time the pupil has gained nothing except special principles, of which he 
knows little or nothing in the way of making a practical application of them. 
If a pupil trained in this manner should be given the selection "Little Dog 
Fido " to read, he would be apt to recite it like a trained (?) elocutionist whom 
I once heard recite the lines: 

"I love to see a little dog, 
And pat him on the head; 
So prettily he wags his tail 
Whenever he is fed;" 

patting himself on the head and shaking his coat tail as he repeated the 
words. 

Thus it can be seen that a vast difference exists between the "old" and the 
"new education." The pupil trained in the private normal is not brought 
up on theory, but is led into the very depths of the subject itself. In the 
class room he does the work ; the teacher simply directs. In this way, the stu- 
dent acquires correct methods of studying and presenting the subject, as well 



76 History of Education in Kansas. 

as a knowledge of the subject itself. No "machine" work is allowed. From 
the beginning, the pupil is taught to rely upon his own resources. "The power 
of the teacher is not measured by the amount of knowledge he has acquired 
and can display, but rather by the love and desire of knowledge he can awaken 
and guide." 

The charge is often made that the course of study is too short. Let me say 
that no time is lost. On the first day of the term the pupil is put to work, 
and is kept at it as long as he remains in the school. It is true that the time 
allotted to complete the course is not so long as that at the University ; yet it 
should be remembered that the school course is valuable, not in proportion 
to the length of the curriculum in subjects and years, but in proportion to the 
power it gives, and its adaptation to the needs of life. The objects of an edu- 
cation are to give power, develop capabilities, make thinkers, movers, doers; 
not to store the mind with the useless lumber of a mass of unsystematized 
knowledge. One dollar, and the ability to use it, is better than a million on 
Crusoe's island. One idea, with the ability and will to use it, is better than 
a thousand backed by no self-control to direct the use thereof. 

The pupils who usually attend the private normals are young men and 
women who make their own way. They come from the farm and village, 
and are full of life and energy. The government of the normal is well 
adapted to their needs. Perfect freedom is secured. The principle of gov- 
ernment is well stated in a catalogue of one of the institutions, which is as 
follows: "That government is best which approximates to self-government. 
That is the highest appeal which appeals to the motives. An appeal to fear 
is debasing; to hope of reward is frequently little better. An appeal for 
right's sake makes the thing done most laudable." There is no "red-tape" 
management of any kind. Every influence which makes men and women 
better is thrown around them. The development of true manhood and true 
womanhood is aimed at. Each individual is left to select for himself. The 
schools are not sectarian, but are Christian. Every surrounding adds to 
character; every day makes the pupil more cultured and refined. By the 
time four years have been spent in normal training, the pupil is well 
equipped to go forth into the world and battle for himself. As evidence of 
the fact, let me say that, though it has been little more than a decade since 
the establishment of the first private normal school in the State, the gradu- 
ates of these schools are filling many of the highest positions in the school 
system of this and other States. Numbers are successful at the bar, others 
grace the judge's bench; the pulpit, the editorial sanctum, the stage and the 
rostrum have representatives, who stand the peer of graduates of older schools 
with longer courses. 

The first private normal was founded at Fort Scott, September 2, 1878, by 
I. C. Scott. Mr. D. E. Sanders was assistant and teacher for the first five 
months. After that time the presidency devolved upon Mr. Sanders, a position 
which he has held ever since. The school was first located in the Congrega- 
tional Church. Signs of prosperity became apparent, and the following year a 



Private Normal Schools. 77 

suitable building was erected. The push and energy of President Sanders soon 
made it necessary to enlarge the building. In 1884, an addition was erected, 
giving a number of recitation rooms, and enlarging the chapel to a seating 
capacity of nearly 800. But the work of the Kansas Normal College was 
not to be confined within such narrow walls. A new building became neces- 
sary, and was erected in 1888. The school has grown until its yearly enroll- 
ment is nearly 800. It is well equipped with apparatus, and has a large 
and well-selected library. The course of study requires four years to com- 
plete it. The course is arranged so that each year the student completes one 
of the minor courses and receives a diploma therefor. The minor courses, five 
in number, are called preparatory, teachers', special science, scientific, and 
classical. Of these, the preparatory, scientific and classical are obligatory, 
and an option exists between the teachers' and special-science courses, before 
graduation. One year is required for each course, but the lower course 
must be completed before taking a higher. Five days each week are spent 
in class work; the remaining one is used in debating, essay reading, and 
work of a general nature. One of the most interesting and instructive de- 
partments of the school is general exercise, which consists of devotional exer- 
cises, singing, announcements, and speech making. The attendance at this 
exercise is not compulsory, but at least 95 per cent, of the students attend reg- 
ularly. Each day 30 minutes are spent this way. Class recitations are 50 
minutes in length. The student is at liberty to prepare his lesson at his room 
or in the library. The school is self-supporting. The entire expense is met 
by charging tuition at the rate of $1 per week. What I have said is but a 
mere outline of the school and its work. The other normals of the State are 
conducted somewhat similarly, and a short sketch of each will suffice. Before 
passing From the Kansas Normal College, I desire to say that the world has 
produced but few men the equal of President Sanders in school work. I but 
voice the sentiment of thousands of teachers, when I say that, in my opinion, 
no one man has had more to do in shaping and molding the teachers of Kan- 
sas than Pres. D. E. Sanders, of the Kansas Normal College, Fort Scott. 
The graduates of his school are found in the front ranks of every profession. 
Campbell University, located at Holton, was opened in September, 1882, 
with six teachers and 30 students. Mr. J. H. Miller, now of Nebraska, was 
made president, a position which he held for six years. For the first five 
years, the courses of study were similar to those of other independent normals ; 
but at the end of that time the courses were changed, making four courses 
of equal length, requiring two years after completing the teachers' course. 
The four courses were called classic, scientific, mathematical, and modern 
language. The classic course required 1\ years of Latin, and \\ of Greek. 
In the fall of 1888, President Miller resigned, and was succeeded by Mr. E. J. 
Hoenshel, who still holds the office. Again the courses of study were length- 
ened. The preparatory or teachers' course now requires one year of Latin, 
mathematics through solid geometry, and other studies to correspond. The 
four courses previously mentioned require two years after completing the 



78 History of Education in Kansas. 

teachers'. The classic course now requires three years of Latin, and two of 
Greek. The aim of the institution is to hold a position intermediate between 
the long university course and the shorter independent normal course. The 
school has gradually increased in attendance, until it now enrolls about 600 
per year. While the writer has never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Hoen- 
shel, yet he feels justified in saying that, judging from the reputation of the 
school and from a personal acquaintance with a part of the faculty, that 
Campbell University has a bright future before it. 

In the spring of 1884, Pres. Alex. C. Hopkins, of Danville, 111., then in 
charge of the East Illinois School, came to Salina in the interest of some Sun- 
day-school work connected with the Christian Church. He was well pleased 
with the country and the town, which was then only about 3,000 in popu- 
lation. He spoke to some of the members of the Christian Church, among 
them H. C. Rash and Rev. Mr. Peel, regarding a school. The people took 
up with the idea; the matter was agitated, and a plan agreed upon. The 
plan was to organize a company, purchase ground, divide it into lots, sell 
these lots, and with the proceeds erect a building. This was done. The in- 
stitution was chartered, and school opened in the new building in September, 
1884. The attendance during the first and second terms of the year was good, 
reaching from 75 to 125 students. About the middle of the year several of 
the faculty became dissatisfied, and resigned, and the school waned from that 
time till the close of the year, when the attendance was quite small. Before 
the opening of the fall term, Profs. L. O. Thoroman and J. Walter Fertig 
became proprietors of the school, with Mr. Thoroman as president. A new 
faculty was secured, two of whom, Messrs. Swisher and Harne, still remain. 
Mr. W. D. Struble, now Assistant State Superintendent, was a student during 
the first year, also under the new management, and was graduated from the 
school in the class of 1887. Since the reorganization of the faculty, the 
school has had a steady growth, though it has had many difficulties with 
which to contend. The school was opened at a time when many colleges 
were being established, all of which were assisted by money. The Salina 
Normal University had nothing to help it except a shrewd business manager 
and a faculty full of push and energy. Twice the crops have failed in the 
western portion of the State ; but the school has kept up with the growth of 
the State. The annual enrollment has reached nearly 700. Central and 
western Kansas have been wonderfully developed in the last few years. They, 
in fact, have become the wheat granary of the world. The prospect of the 
school is all that could be desired. Salina, with her beautiful streets and 
parks, her 16 churches, her manufactories, her magnificent lines of railway, 
her delightful and healthful climate, surrounded by rich and fertile prairies,, 
is destined to be a great and populous city, an educational center, with the 
Salina Normal University the pride of the city and State. 

Central Normal College, at Great Bend, was established in 1887, at a 
cost of $25,000. The school was under the auspices of the Congregational 
Church of that city. Rev. Mr. Bosworth was elected president. In January, 



Private Normal Schools. 79 

1888, Pres. D. E. Sanders, of the Kansas Normal College, Fort Scott, Kas., 
was made president of the institution. Prof. J. E. Monroe was the princi- 
pal in charge. The school increased in attendance rapidly, and 37 students 
were enrolled before the close of the year. President Sanders, not desiring 
to manage two schools at the same time, resigned the presidency, and Prof. 
William Stryker became the sole proprietor, and president. President Stry- 
ker began the work at once in earnest. A large faculty was selected, nearly 
all of whom were graduates of the Kansas Normal College, President Stryker 
himself being a graduate of the school, and having been one of the leading 
teachers of the institution for eight years. The school immediately increased 
in popularity and attendance, the enrollment in 1888-89 being 294; in 
1889-'90, 351; 1890-'91, 397. Three thousand dollars were expended in 
furniture. The necessary apparatus and a good working library were se- 
cured. Its growth has been unrivaled in the history of private normals. The 
school is in a good location, and, judging its future by what has already been 
done in such a short time, it is safe to say that in a brief period the Central 
Normal College will take its place beside institutions much longer established. 
President Stryker is full of energy and activity; he is possessed with those 
qualities necessary to success on the frontier. 

From the brief sketch given of the schools above, the fact has been estab- 
lished that an institution of higher learning, a college, can be built without 
an endowment. These schools are a product of the nineteenth-century civili- 
zation, and show the achievements of a great and rapidly-advancing people. 
In order to substantiate more fully the claims of these institutions, I desire 
to add a few more words, calling attention to a particular class of students 
who attend. 

In every community, and especially in agricultural districts, it will be 
found that a large per cent, of the young men and women earnestly desire a 
better education. They are disinclined to attend the district school, because 
classes are not sustained in many of the branches which they desire to study ; 
they are reluctant to enter the closely-graded schools of the neighboring town 
or city, for, whatever their attainments may be, they are almost sure to find 
that their work has been "irregular" with respect to the inflexible course, 
and that they must be classed with and receive the discipline and instruction 
adapted to those much younger than themselves. The preparatory depart- 
ments of our colleges and universities are not, as a rule, arranged with the 
view of meeting the wants of these young people, but are rather designed to 
receive pupils from the high schools. The old-time academy, which our fathers 
and mothers attended in the Eastern States, is unknown in this State, and the 
boy or girl who drops out of the district school at the age of 15 or 16 finds, 
at 19 or 20, that very few institutions of learning appear to regard his or her 
case as hopeful, unless the subject evinces entire willingness to cancel the four 
years' experience and growth in mind and body, and become a child again. 
Unfortunately this disposition seldom exists; nor do young people of this 
class often expect to obtain a college education. Undoubtedly such an edu- 



80 History of Education in Kansas. 

cation would repay them a thousandfold for all the sacrifices they must make 
to secure it; but the fact remains that, for the most part, they believe that 
they cannot afford to spend more than one or two years. The private normals 
offering inducements which overcome these difficulties, thousands of bright 
young men and women have already been reached. They enter the normal 
for only a short time, but they soon become intoxicated, as it were, with a 
thirst for knowledge. Many often find means to support themselves longer 
than they anticipated when they entered ; others stay but a short time. They 
repair to the field, to the workshop, to the counter, and not a few to the 
schoolroom, and hasten to earn enough money to sustain them in school an- 
other year or more. Thus it goes on until the complete course is finished ; and 
it is these young men and women who are rapidly working their way into the 
best positions in the State. 

Another grand feature of these schools is the absence of caste. While 
many attend who have large pecuniary interests, yet a feeling of superiority 
of the rich class over the poor is entirely unknown, so far as my personal 
observation has extended. How different from this is the condition in many 
of the schools of our country! 

Let the private normals increase in number. Let their usefulness be ex- 
tended until every man and woman in the State can breathe their free atmos- 
phere, drink deep draughts from their fountain of methods of instruction, 
store the mind from their well-selected stock of knowledge, and become im- 
bued with their ability to think, to act, to do. 



denominational Scboote/ 



Midland College, Atchison; Evangelical Lutheran ; 12 teachers, 113 pupils. 

St. Benedict's College, Atchison; Catholic; 24 teachers, 159 pupils. 

Mt. St. Scholastica Academy, Atchison; Catholic; 10 teachers, 100 pupils. 

Hiawatha Academy, Hiawatha; independent; 6 teachers, 167 pupils. 

Spring Kiver Academy, Galena; Friends; 1 teacher, 30 pupils. 

Nazareth Academy, Concordia; Catholic; 3 teachers, 90 pupils. 

Southwestern Kansas College, Winfield; Methodist Episcopal; 19 teachers, 311 pupils. 

Central College, Enterprise; United Brethren; 11 teachers, 147 pupils. 

Mt. St. Joseph Academy, Abilene; Catholic. 

Highland University, Highland; Presbyterian; 8 teachers, 126 pupils. 

Baker University, Baldwin; Methodist Episcopal; 19 teachers, 504 pupils. 

Lane University, Lecompton; United Brethren; 9 teachers, 219 pupils. 

Hesper Academy, Hesper; Friends; 2 teachers, 44 pupils. 

•Ottawa University, Ottawa; Baptist; 8 teachers, 231 pupils. 

Southern Kansas Academy, Eureka; Congregational; 4 teachers, 89 pupils. 

Mennonite Seminary, Halstead; Mennonite; 2 teachers, 53 pupils. 

Bethel College, Newton; Mennonite. 

North Branch Academy, North Branch; Friends; 2 teachers, 84 pupils. 

Olathe Academy, Olathe; ; 5 teachers, 76 pupils. 

Oswego College, Oswego; Presbyterian; 9 teachers, 69 pupils. 

Kansas Christian College, Lincoln; Christian; 4 teachers, 70 pupils. 

Mt. St. Mary's Academy, Leavenworth; Catholic; 3 teachers, 90 pupils. 

Friends' Academy, Tonganoxie; Friends; 4 teachers, 41 pupils. 

•College of Emporia, Emporia; Presbyterian; 10 teachers, 82 pupils. 

•Grellet Academy, Glen Elder; Friends; 3 teachers, 90 pupils. 

McPherson College, McPherson; German Baptist; 9 teachers, 334 pupils. 

Bethany College, Lindsborg; Swedish Lutheran; 21 teachers, 149 pupils. 

St. Mary's College, St. Mary's; Catholic; 24 teachers, 294 pupils. 

Cooper Memorial College, Sterling; United Presbyterian; 10 teachers, 195 pupils. 

Stockton Academy, Stockton; Congregational; 6 teachers, 50 pupils. 

Kansas Wesleyan University, Salina; Methodist Episcopal; 10 teachers, 153 pupils. 

St. John's Military Academy, Salina; Episcopal; 8 teachers, 60 pupils. 

Wichita University, Wichita; German Keformed; 11 teachers, 135 pupils. 

Central Memorial University, Wichita; Christian; 12 teachers, 150 pupils. 

Lewis Academy, Wichita; Presbyterian; 9 teachers, 239 pupils. 

Fairmount Academy, Wichita; Congregational; 7 teachers, 50 pupils. 

All Hallows Academy, Wichita; Catholic; 2 teachers, 45 pupils. 

Washburn College, Topeka; Congregational; 16 teachers, 278 pupils. 

Bethany College, Topeka; Episcopal; 17 teachers, 185 pupils. 

Friends' Academy, Washington; Friends; 7 teachers, 135 pupils. 

* I ^HE free public schools of America are outgrowths of the parochial or 
-*- pastoral schools of puritan New England, which were established by our 
forefathers to prepare their children for becoming useful members of society 
and the church. Nurtured in the lap of the church, these schools soon be- 
came so necessary to society at large that the church reluctantly relinquished 
her claim upon the elementary schools, and turned them over to the care of 

*By L. C. Wooster, superintendent of the Kansas Educational Exhibit at the World's Columbian 
Exposition. 

-6 (81) 



82 Histoi'ij of Education in Kansas. 

the commonwealths, retaining for herself the higher institutions of learning — 
the academies and colleges. 

Whether this was wise or not it is not my purpose to discuss, further than 
to remark that, if the study of the Bible is to be excluded from all State 
schools, if the inculcation of the principles of Christianity is to have no place 
in the daily programme, if the worship of God is to form no part of the gen- 
eral exercises of these public elementary schools, then the good of the State 
would be better served by restoring all schools to church control. 

The denominational schools of Kansas number 246 ; of these, 21 are col- 
leges, 20 are academies, and 205 are parochial. In this enumeration, each 
academy and college is counted a school; but, for obvious reasons, the num- 
ber of schools of lower grade is considered as corresponding with the number 
of teachers. 

All the academies and colleges of Kansas, with a few exceptions, make no 
distinctions with respect to race or sex. The colleges of the Catholic Church 
admit young men only, the academies young women. The Episcopalians 
have a college for young women, and an academy for young men. The Pres- 
byterians have one college for women exclusively ; their other institutions are 
open to both sexes. 

BAPTISTS. 

Ottawa University. — The Baptists have but this one school in Kansas. 
The institution was founded in 1861, and now controls property in the city 
of Ottawa valued at $165,000. 

President Franklin Johnson, in a recent catalogue, says : 

The aim of the institution is to provide a thorough Christian education. This 
end implies such intellectual and moral discipline and such a degree of mental fur- 
nishing as shall fit the student to engage, with success and honor, in the duties of 
business and professional life. 

To attain this result, classical, literary, and scientific courses of study have 
been prepared for the collegiate department. Preparatory and music courses 
are likewise organized, as in similar institutions. 

CHRISTIANS. 

The Christians have a college at Lincoln. This, with the exception of 
Central Memorial University, is the only school of their denomination in the 
State. 

Lincoln College. — Its aims, as set forth by Pres. I. Mooney, are : 

(1) So to teach the sciences that the reasoning powers shall be well developed, 
and the memory so trained that all facts learned may be classified and retained. 
(2) To impress the mind of each student with the truth; that frankness is infinitely 
better than duplicity; that a noble character is the highest earthly heritage, and can 
be obtained only by continuous noble deeds; that purity is an indispensable requi- 
site for the highest enjoyment of this life and the life to come. (3) So to train the 
social forces of the students that they will ever be able readily to discern fit asso- 
ciates, have a due regard for the rights and opinions of others, and be fitted for 
efficient work in Sunday schools, churches, literary, musical and religious associa- 



Denominational Schools. 83 

tions. (4) So to teach patriotism that the rights of the Government shall be re- 
spected, its institutions studied, and its highest good cared for. (5) So to develop 
the aspirations of each student that he will studiously inquire for his own capabil- 
ities and constantly seek their full development. 

To accomplish these objects, preparatory, normal, and scientific courses are 
provided. The college was incorporated in 1888. The total value of all the 
property of the college is about $11,600. 

Central Memorial University, Wichita, has entered upon a new period of 
prosperity. Its fine building, one of the finest in the West, is now being 
completed by a Boston gentleman, and the institution is certain to get a gen- 
erous endowment, so that its future prosperity is assured. 

CATHOLICS. 

The Catholics of Kansas, as in other States, insist very strenuously on the 
education of their children in their parochial and higher schools, and prob- 
ably would not object to a share of the public funds for their support. The 
Catholic population of the State is about 80,000, and the pupils in the paro- 
chial schools number 5,668 ; in the higher institutions, 780. Excellent col- 
leges for young men are in operation at Atchison and St. Mary's, and 
academies for young women at Atchison, Leavenworth, Wichita, Concordia, 
and Abilene. The parochial schools in the larger and smaller cities number 
160, counting a school to a teacher. 

CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

The members of the Congregational churches have established a college 
at Topeka, and three academies, one each at Eureka, Stockton, and Wichita, 
These institutions give mental and moral training to nearly 500 young people. 

Washburn College is situated in the western suburbs of Topeka. Dr. 
Peter McVicar, the president, is, in time of service, one of the oldest educa- 
tors of the State. He says of the college : 

It is a Christian but not a sectarian institution. Its object is to give the high- 
est and best culture. It fosters moral and religious influences as the best safeguards 
of youth. 

The college furnishes three courses of study: Classical, literary, and scien- 
tific. About two-thirds of the 278 students are members of the preparatory 
and music departments. The college property is valued at $488,000. 

The Southern Kansas Academy, at Eureka, was founded in 1885, io the 
interests of Christian education, largely through the efforts of Hon. Edwin 
Tucker. The charter says : 

Believing the doctrines of the gospel of Christ to be a necessary part of a sound 
and valuable education, and the practice of them necessary for the safety and good 
order of society, it is ordained that the same shall be included in a high grade of in- 
struction, but said institution shall be nonsectarian. 

Rev. E. G. Lancaster is the present principal. He says of the courses of 
study : 

We urge all students to enter one of the regular courses, which have been care- 



84 History of Education in Kansas. 

fully prepared to meet the needs of the times. The classical and scientific fit for 
college or business. The literary and normal is designed for those who cannot go 
to higher institutions, but who desire a good, liberal education and preparation for 
teaching. This is a five-years course of study after graduating from the common 
schools — one year preparatory in English and four years academic study. It is a 
most serious mistake in our academy that students try to select studies from differ- 
ent years and different courses, thinking thus to take a "short cut" to the desired 
goal. It results in ruin of scholarship, loss of time, and, in the end, dissatisfaction 
with the school work. Hence, so far as practicable, we shall insist on students en- 
tering the regular classes and completing the work so far as they go. In that way 
they will lay a good foundation and build a symmetrical structure. Either course, 
completed, opens the way to higher institutions of learning. If only a part of a 
course can be taken, it will give a better education and be of much more value to 
the student than selected studies. Special students may enter any of the existing 
classes for which they are prepared. Students fitting for any c liege may adapt 
their course to meet its requirements. 

The total value of school property is about $20,000. 

Stockton Academy is located at Stockton, Rooks county, Kansas. Rev. 
F. E. Sherman, the principal, gives the following history of its organization 
and purpose: 

The Stockton Academy is an extension of the preparatory department of Wash- 
burn College, at Topeka, though not organically connected with it. The Congrega- 
tional churches of the State believe that one college for the State is enough, but that 
several academies cooperating with the college will increase greatly its usefulness. 
An offer of $10,000 and some land by the citizens of Stockton, in addition to the 
special fitness of the place to be the home of such an institution, secured its loca- 
tion here. The academy was incorporated in March, 1887, and received its first stu- 
dents in October of that year. It used rented rooms the first year. The second year 
it occupied its artistic and convenient building on the hill, commanding one of the 
finest views in the South Solomon valley. During its four years it has enrolled 309 
students, graduated 15, and had some part in the training of a large number of 
public-school and other teachers. It has always tried to surround its students with 
a decidedly Christian atmosphere, and has seen good results in their spiritual quick- 
ening. 

Skill and accuracy in the use of figures and in the use of the English language, 
habits of promptness, obedience, thoroughness, and conscientious devotion to Christ 
and His work, are the best results that can follow from the work done in the acad- 
emy. These results we keep ever in mind. 

Fairmount Institute, Wichita, with Rev. R. M. Tunnell, principal, is a re- 
cently-organized school. 

Its founders have faith in Kansas — faith in her boundless material resources; in 
her heritage of moral power and freedom, of culture and intelligence; in her pro- 
gressive and capable farming population, and in the world-wide mission of her 
young men and young women. 

The primary object of Christian education is the formation of right character. 
The institute is founded in the belief that a school which, true to the genius of Amer- 
ican institutions and the spirit of our forefathers, founds such education on the 
Bible, will be welcomed and fostered by the high-minded people of our beloved 
State. 

The biblical or training school of the Associated Bible Schools of Kansas consti- 



Denominational Schools. 85 

tutes an annex to the institute, which provides for it a home. This department 
offers a regular three-years course for those expecting to devote their lives to Chris- 
tian work as preachers, Y. M. C. A. secretaries, or. home or foreign missionaries. 
Provision will also be made for giving special instruction in the Bible or other 
branches to any Christian workers, as Sunday-school superintendents, teachers, etc., 
for longer or shorter periods. Medical instruction will also be provided for those 
intending to become foreign missionaries. 

EPISCOPALIANS. 

The Episcopalians have two schools in operation in Kansas — a college for 
girls, at Topeka, and a military academy, for boys, at Salina. In these insti- 
tutions, 243 young people were enrolled during the year 1891-92. 

Bethany College is a boarding school, for girls exclusively. Its grounds 
are situated in the heart of Topeka, and, with the buildings, are valued at 
$361,000. Miss Charlotte Burchan is the vice principal. The three courses 
of study are: Classical, Latin-English, and English commercial. 

St. John's Military School, for boys, Walter M. Jay, head master, is situ- 
ated at Salina, near the geographical center of the State, and in the midst of 
a rich agricultural region. 

On the 14th of March, 1887, citizens of Salina formed a corporation for 
the purpose of establishing an institution to be known as the Episcopal Mili- 
tary Institute, of Salina, Kansas, to be carried on under the auspices of the 
Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Kansas. Pursuant therewith, the corpora- 
tion of St. John's School was formed, for the purpose of maintaining and 
conducting a school and college for boys and young men. 

The official seal is a disk with a raised cross in the center, inscribed "In 
Cruce Solum," and "St. John's School, Salina, Kansas," on the edge of the 
disk. 

On the 20th of September, 1888, the school was formally opened, by 
Bishop Thomas, who retained the rectorship till the 9th of January, 1890, 
when he nominated as his successor the Rev. E. P. Chittenden. 

Upon the resignation of Mr. Chittenden, in September, 1891, Bishop 
Thomas again assumed the duties of rector. 

There are three distinct courses of study, each covering a period of four 
years, with one preparatory year additional for younger pupils. The classical 
course comprises three years of Greek, four of Latin, and four of mathematics. 
The Latin-English course (often called scientific) provides for work in history, 
science, and upon modern languages, in lieu of Greek. Graduates from these 
departments easily enter the foremost colleges. The English-commercial 
course gives a complete and sufficient preparation for business. 

The military department is a distinct feature of the school, and is in charge 
of a regular army officer, detailed as military instructor by the War Depart- 
ment. The Government has provided the school with the cadet rifles, accou- 
terments, two field pieces, and ammunition. 

It is believed, after several years of personal experience in military schools, 
that no better method can be found for elevating the tone of the character* 



86 History of Education in Kansas. 

strengthening the mental faculties and developing the bodily powers than 
by the daily military drill and the strict observance of military usages in the 
routine of school life. 

It trains boys to be erect in carriage, elastic in step, clear eyed, and well- 
developed. It inculcates habits of prompt obedience, builds up manliness of 
character, and weeds out vicious habits, by creating an esprit de corps that 
makes the cadets feel that whatever would tend to injure them would also in- 
jure the school, of which they come to be justly pround. 

The total value of property belonging to St. John's Military Academy is 
$68,500. 

FRIENDS. 

The Friends are among the pioneers in education in Kansas. Six acad- 
emies have been established by this denomination in the northern and east- 
ern portions of our State ; one each at Galena, Glen Elder, Hesper, North 
Branch, Tonganoxie, and Washington. Although under denominational 
control, the academies are in no sense sectarian schools. H. C. Fellow, 
principal of Washington Academy, says: 

The religious influences are of the most positive character, and in harmony with 
evangelical Christian doctrine. The courses of study and the instruction in the class- 
room have been at all times such as to foster among students a spirit of impartial 
research in all departments of truth. Students of any Christian denomination, as 
well as those not belonging to any church, receive equal advantages and are eligible 
to the same honors, without discrimination in terms or conditions. 

We take the ground that character is more than scholarship — that education is 
a failure that does not send into the world men and women of correct habits and 
principles. The greatest care will be taken with reference to the habits of the pu- 
pils, and they will be urged to form only such associations as will be elevating. 

The principals, so far as known, are: J. W. Marshall, Glen Elder; Theo- 
dore Reynolds, Hesper; Henry H. Townsend, North Branch; O. E. Dixon, 
Tonganoxie; and H. C. Fellow, Washington. 

GERMAN REFORMED CHURCH. 

The University of Wichita, A. S. Miller, president, was established by the 
Reformed Church as a distinctly Christian school, though not in any sense 
sectarian. It is under the general care of the Synod of the Interior of the 
Reformed Church in the United States, through a board of trustees elected 
by and amenable to the synod. Students are confronted with the claims of 
Christianity by daily morning religious service held in the chapel, by at least 
one period a week devoted to Bible study, and by being required to attend 
public worship on the Lord's day. Parents who desire their children to attend 
some particular church may make known their wishes to the president, and 
proper attendance will be secured. 

It is the aim of the institution to join the truths of science and learning 
with Christian faith, in its general and fundamental character, so that head 
and heart alike may be educated. The faculty and trustees encourage young 
people's religious societies and devotional meetings among the students. A 



Denominational Schools. 87 

voluntary prayer meeting was conducted every Thursday evening during the 
past year, in which nearly all the students took part. 

American life is exceedingly varied and active. With a large number of 
our young people, its practical demands so encroach upon the time that ought 
to be devoted to study that many young men can spend but few years in the 
schoolroom. The work of these years should be adapted to the actual needs 
of the students, as closely as possible. This is especially true of the growing 
West. 

The university recognizes this, and has, accordingly, arranged a number 
of courses, each complete and thorough in itself. Besides this, it allows the 
greatest liberty in the choice of studies consistent with good habits and effect- 
ive work. 

The courses of study are: Classical, English scientific, Latin scientific, 
Greek scientific, normal, business, music and art, and preparatory. The col- 
lege property is valued at $45,000. 

GERMAN BAPTISTS (dUNKARDS). 

MePherson College, S. Z. Sharp, president, has in operation classical, Latin, 
scientific, general scientific and normal courses of study. 

The institution is conducted under the auspices of the German Baptist 
Brethren ( Dunkard ) Church, but all other denominations are made welcome. 
Its aim is to provide a thorough Christian education. The end of this im- 
plies such intellectual, moral and religious training as shall harmoniously 
develop the entire being. It advocates plainness of dress, and simplicity in 
the habits of life; discourages caste; thus making it a home for rich and 
poor alike. 

It is the aim of the institution not only to cultivate the intellect, but to 
instill principles of morality and the truths of religion. The public exercises 
of each day are opened with religious worship. Religious services are held 
in the chapel both morning and evening on each Lord's day. A students' 
prayer meeting is held each Wednesday evening. The students rooming in 
the dormitory are divided into sections, each section conducting its own even- 
ing services before retiring. 

The value of college property is $60,000. The college was established 
August 24, 1887, and is rapidly increasing its school facilities. 

INDEPENDENTS. 

Hiawatha Academy, Alton H. Cowles, principal, was founded by the citi- 
zens of Brown county in the year 1887, and was placed under the control of 
a self-perpetuating board of trustees. The building was dedicated August 
21, 1888, and opened for the reception of students September 11, of the same 
year. 

The academy is a nonsectarian institution. Its object is to furnish the 
elements of a solide ducation. It is designed to be Christian, practical, and 
thorough in its aim, conservative in its methods, seeking fully and only to 
embrace in the scope of its work the so-called secondary education. 



88 History of Education in Kansas. 

The courses of study are: Classical, scientific, literary, normal, commer- 
cial, music, and preparatory. The value of the property belonging to the 
academy is estimated at $33,000. 

EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN. 

Midland College, Rev. Jacob A. Clutz, president, is situated in Atchison,, 
one of the oldest cities in Kansas. 

The buildings stand on the summit of one of the highest bluffs in the 
neighborhood. The views in every direction are most beautiful and pictur- 
esque, overlooking the city, the winding Missouri, and the rolling country 
for many miles in every direction. All this will be found highly conducive 
to health, and to study and general culture. 

Though Midland College is under the special care and patronage of the 
Evangelical Lutheran Church (General Synod), it is in no sense a sectarian 
institution. It is designed, however, to be distinctively Christian, as it is be- 
lieved that there cannot be any deep culture nor any truly healthful mental 
development, apart from a genuine spirit of religion and worship; hence, all 
students are required to attend the devotional exercises held each morning 
in the college chapel, and also to attend public worship at least once on the 
Lord's day, at such church as their parents may prefer. In case of no ex- 
pressed preference, boarding students will be required to worship with the 
faculty at the English Lutheran Church. 

Classical, scientific, literary, select, and preparatory courses of study are 
provided for the training of those entering the college. 

The college values its property at $73,500. 

GERMAN LUTHERAN. 

The schools established by the German Lutherans in Kansas are all paro- 
chial. Of these there are 45, somewhat widely scattered over the State, in 
which are educated 1,763 children. 

Because of a growing interest in certain questions pertaining to parochial 
schools, a statement from their standing committee on schools, of the beliefs 
and wishes of the members of this church in regard to education, is given 
below : 

1. We hold that parents, being the natural guardians of their children, should 
consider it their right, privilege, and solemn duty to educate them. As a nonfulfill- 
ment of this duty would be detrimental to the welfare of the commonwealth, the 
State is in duty bound to enact laws enforcing the education of all children evidently 
neglected by their parents. But it should be left to the parents to select any school 
— either public, parochial, or private. 

2. It is the duty of the State to provide schools for the use of its citizens. We 
therefore regard the public schools as necessary and indispensable, and cheerfully 
pay the taxes levied for their support. 

3. We hold that the public schools, being governed by the State, and intended 
for the education of all children, may their parents be religious or irreligious, should 
now and forever be without any religious instruction whatever, since the constitu- 
tion of the United States, as well as the constitution of the State of Kansas, for all 



Denominational Schools. 89 

time acknowledges the separation of church and State. (See Constitution of United 
States, amendment I; Constitution of Kansas, Bill of Rights, sec. 8.) 

4. This being the case, we deem it necessary to maintain parochial schools, so 
that our children may receive an instruction in conformity with our religion and ac- 
cording to the dictates of our conscience. 

5. We condemn all demands upon the public funds for the erection and mainte- 
nance of parochial schools. We therefore maintain, and always intend to maintain, our 
schools without any pecuniary aid whatsoever out of the public-school fund. Thus, 
instead of being aided by the general public, we benefit the commonwealth, as we by 
paying school tax, help them educate their children, and, at the same time, by main- 
taining our parochial schools, save the public in general the expense of educating 
our children. 

6. Our aim is to give our children a liberal education in all the necessary branches 
of learning taught in the common schools. We, of course, instruct them in the ele- 
ments of the German tongue, but we certainly do not neglect the English language, 
and are no enemies of the same, knowing very well that we owe it to our children 
to give them the best possible knowledge of this most important branch of secular 
learning. In arithmetic, geography, United States history, and other studies, the 
English language is generally the medium of instruction. 

7. As our schools are maintained and controlled solely by our congregations, we 
hold that the State, through its government, should in no wise interfere with the 
management of these our parochial schools. While we indorse a compulsory-educa- 
tion law, we are opposed to any legislation in regard to any branches of instruction 
or text-books, etc., to be introduced in our schools, laws of this kind having a tend- 
ency to endanger the liberty of our conscience. We therefore regard such legisla- 
tion as a violation of the constitution of our beloved country, which grants us liberty 
of conscience and the free exercise of our religion. 

SWEDISH LUTHERANS. 

Bethany College, at Lindsborg, is the only educational institution (with the 
exception of a few parochial schools,) established by the Swedish Lutherans 
in Kansas. Pres. C. A. Swensson, in a recent catalogue, says : 

Bethany College has a very encouraging history. It is a child of Providence. 
It began with nothing 10 years ago. Now it is a large and well-established institu- 
tion of learning, with seven departments and thorough courses of instruction. Our 
aim is to make this college an institution of the people and for the people. The 
spirit is that of Christian equality and liberality. Our students have the privilege 
and opportunity of choosing a course of study that suits their special purpose. 

Bethany College was founded in 1881, under the auspices of the Swedish Lutheran 
Church, by Rev. C. A. Swensson. The following year the Smoky Valley District of 
the Kansas Conference of the Augustana Synod took charge of the institution, and 
appointed a board of directors. A commodious building was erected in 1883, which 
at present serves as the young ladies' dormitory. In the spring of 1885, the institu- 
tion passed into the hands of the Kansas Conference. On account of the increased 
attendance in 1885 and 1886, and the difficulties arising from insufficient accommo- 
dations, it was decided to erect a main building large enough to meet the wants of 
the institution. This building, now completed, is one of the largest and best- 
arranged edifices in the West. 

Classical, scientific, normal, commercial, and preparatory courses of study 
are presented to students by the college. The utmost care is observed in pro- 
moting the moral welfare of students. As to their general conduct, students 



90 History of Education in Kansas. 

are expected to act as ladies and gentlemen under all circumstances. Secret 
societies, profane language, card playing, late hours, and the use of tobacco 
in or about the buildings are forbidden. The college property is valued at 
$98,917.66. 

MENNONITES. 

Noble L. Prentis says in his " Kansas Miscellanies " : 

By far the most extensive and notable immigration in the history of Kansas was 
that of the so-called "Russians," which began in 1874, and which has resulted in the 
settlement of 15,000 Mennonites in the counties of Marion, Harvey, McPherson, 
Butler, Reno, and Barton, besides the Catholic German-Russians, who have some 
settlements in Ellis county, and whose mud village of Herzog I visited in 1878. 

A circular says : 

The proper education of their children has always been a matter of prime im- 
portance with the Mennonites. When they settled in Kansas, not only did they at 
once avail themselves of the advantages of our public-school system by sending 
their children to the public schools, but they also organized private and denomina- 
tional schools to supplement the work of the district schools, by teaching religion 
and German. 

Nor is their appreciation of education limited to that afforded by the common 
school; but before a decade had passed since the first Mennonite hut was built on 
the Kansas prairies, the Mennonite seminary was established at Halstead, and in 
1887 Bethel College was founded, at Newton. 

It is a matter of historic interest to know that, before three years had 
elapsed after their first settlement in Kansas, the Mennonites abandoned the 
village or commune system of living. 

METHODISTS. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church, ever the friend of all social and relig- 
ious means of advancement, has established three institutions of higher rank 
in the State, and is planning to crown its educational system with a univer- 
sity of the first class. Its three colleges, with 48 teachers, enrolled during 
the year 1891-'92 nearly 1,000 students. Baker University, W. A. Quayle, 
president, is situated at Baldwin; Southwest Kansas College, Milton E. 
Phillips, president, at Winfield; and Kansas Wesleyan University, Aaron 
Schuyler, president, at Salina. 

Baker University, named in honor of Bishop Osman C. Baker, is the oldest 
living educational institution in the State, having been chartered in Febru- 
ary, 1858. Its doors were open to students in the autumn of the same year, 
and regular work has been done every term since. Like most denomina- 
tional schools, Baker has had a hard struggle for an existence ; but, having 
survived many disasters, its friends feel that the crisis is now fully past, and 
the success of the last few years inspires hope for the future. 

It should be borne in mind that the school began with the early settlement 
of the State, in 1858; that the church in Kansas was at that time financially 
weak; that Kansas, in addition to the civil war, had also a " border-ruffian 
war." It should be remembered, too, that time, as well as money, is neces- 



Denominational Schools. 91 

sary to the establishment of a good school. The scholarship and culture pro- 
duced in Baker University had to have time to merit a standing ; the social 
advantages and the Christian influences had to become known and unques- 
tioned; the public confidence and favor had to be won. These things re- 
quired time, but they have been well done. 

With the beginning of the school year in 1889, proper and continuous 
work on endowment was commenced. Up to that time but little had been 
done towards creating a permanent fund ; indeed, but little could have been 
expected. Grounds and recitation rooms, with some equipments, were the 
first material requisites. In the 33 years of the school's history, three build- 
ings have been erected, at an aggregate cost of $75,000, while the whole 
amount of property, besides present endowment, is 'valued at $100,000. 

The courses of study provided are: Classical, scientific, Latin scientific, 
literature and art, modern literature, normal, commercial, and preparatory. 

Southwest Kansas College was projected by the Southwest Kansas Confer- 
ence, at its session in March, 1885. A board of trustees and a committee on 
location were appointed at the same session. In June of the same year, 
Win field was selected as the place for the college. In the spring of 1886, 
the foundations of the main building were laid, and the work pushed vigor- 
ously forward. The first session opened in September of the same year, in 
rented rooms, the building not being completed till the spring of the follow- 
ing year. It has been doing the best of work ever since. It has quite a num- 
ber of honored graduates. 

The institution is under the control of the Southwest Kansas Conference 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Though a denominational, it is not a 
sectarian school. It is the purpose of its authorities to make it preeminently 
a Christian college ; hence, great prominence is given to the moral and relig- 
ious culture of its students. The members of the faculty are each and all 
interested in the welfare of the students. A young men's Christian associ- 
ation and a young women's Christian association are in active operation. 
Short noonday prayer meetings are held during the year, and several weekly 
religious meetings. These meetings have been of great good to students, the 
majority of whom are earnest Christians. 

The courses of study are: Classical, philosophical, scientific, English, nor- 
mal, business, and preparatory. The value of the college property exceeds 
$75,000. 

The Kansas Wesleyan University is, in nearly all respects, identical in pur- 
pose and courses of study with the Southwest Kansas College. It was founded 
in 1886, and is well supported. The value of all the college property is given 
at $97,000. 

PRESBYTERIANS. 

Three colleges and one academy, with 35 teachers and 500 pupils, have 
been established by the Presbyterians in Kansas. 

Emporia College, John F. Hendy, president, was established October 9, 



92 History of Education in Kansas. 

1882, by the Presbyterian Synod of Kansas. The charter declares the pur- 
pose of the founders, viz. : " To found an institution for instruction in litera- 
ture, science, and art, according to the highest standard of education." 

In November, 1883, the first classes of the institution were organized. 
Seventeen pupils were enrolled, but all these were in the preparatory depart- 
ment. The regular and systematic work of the college began in September, 
1884. For three years instruction was given in rented rooms poorly adapted 
for the purpose of teaching. In the year 1886, however, the splendid edifice 
known as "Stuart Hall" was so far completed that the board of trustees 
decided to begin the work of that year in the new building. The year now 
closing shows that the collegiate enrollment has been the largest in its his- 
tory. The grading is complete, from the senior class down, together with two 
classes in the preparatory department. In thoroughness and comprehensive- 
ness, its courses of study will compare favorably with those of the older East- 
ern colleges. 

The institution, while owned and controlled by a particular denomination 
of Christians, is in no sense sectarian. On its board of trustees other denom- 
inations are represented, so that the college may be regarded as catholic and 
evangelical in the broadest sense. The privileges enjoyed here may be shared 
by all alike, without "prejudice to the religious views and convictions of any 
person. As, however, this school of learning has been planted by men who 
accept with unquestioning faith God's inspired word, it is to be presumed 
that the entire trend of the instruction given will be toward Christ the Lord, 
and not away from Him. 

Among the hopes that stirred the hearts of the men who founded this 
school of higher learning, was the well-founded one that a fair percentage of 
its students would be led to choose for their life work the sacred office of the 
ministry. That hope has already been quite fully realized. On the present 
roll of students are found the names of 30 young men definitely committed 
to that special service in the church. This is nearly one-half the entire num- 
ber of male students. Three of the young men who graduate the present 
year expect to enter the ministry. 

The college property is valued at $120,000. Classical, philosophical, and 
preparatory courses of study are provided for the students. 

Highland University, in northeastern Kansas, is the outgrowth of the Iowa 
and Sac mission, which was commenced by Kev. S. M. Irvin in 1837, in com- 
pany with Rev. William Hamilton, under the direction of the Presbyterian 
Board of Foreign Missions. In 1856, the Indians were removed to a reserva- 
tion in Nebraska, the village of Highland was located, the Indian school 
transferred to that place, and the Indian church became the church of High- 
land. In this year a classical academy was begun. In 1858, a charter was 
obtained, under the title of Highland University, and several years afterward 
the institution was transferred to the care of the Synod of Kansas, which 
body still elects its trustees. The object of the college is to give a complete 
and thorough training in all of those branches of study which will best de- 



Denominational Schools. 93 

velop the highest mental and moral manhood. But, not to be untrue to the 
aim of its founders, the school desires particularly to train those whose pur- 
pose is to spread the gospel in the world. The institution, while under the 
control of a particular denomination, is in no sense sectarian. Several re- 
ligious denominations are represented on its board of trustees. Its advant- 
ages may be shared by all students alike, without interference with religious 
belief or personal conviction. 

The president, Rev. Albert B. Irwin, resigned his position at the close of 
the school year 1891-92, and S. Ensminger was chosen acting president. 
The total value of all property belonging to the college is $33,000. The 
courses of study are : Classical, scientific, literary, normal, and preparatory. 

Oswego College, Miss Susan H. Johnson, president, is not an artificial cre- 
ation, but a natural growth. There was first a need, urgent, as real and om- 
nipresent in Kansas as in any other part of the country. The need was 
definite for education — education for women; education in a woman's col- 
lege. The need was for a distinctively Christian institution, and as distinct- 
ively unsectarian in its operations. In response to this need, Oswego College 
was opened, in January, 1886, by the efforts of the Presbytery of Neosho. 
From that date to the present time, the college has had a steady growth in 
equipment and resources, in the character of its work, and in the regard and 
confidence of the patrons. 

This growth has confirmed the judgment of the founders, and given as- 
surance of future prosperity and advancement. The trustees, encouraged by 
this record, and by the guaranteed payment of all indebtedness, are provid- 
ing the necessary increase of facilities for the growing institution. The 
courses of study are: Philosophical, normal, music and art, and preparatory. 

Lewis Academy, J. M. Naylor, principal, was originally chartered by the 
State of Kansas, on May 12, 1884, under the name of the Wichita Academy. 
To the Rev. J. D. Hewitt, D. D., then pastor of the First Presbyterian Church 
of Wichita, must be accorded the credit of originating the project. To him, 
also, is chiefly due the praise for conducting it through all the vicissitudes of 
its earlier history to the establishment of the institution upon a firm founda- 
tion. On May 18, 1886, the charter name was changed to that of Lewis 
Academy, in honor of Mr. H. W. Lewis, of Wichita, whose liberal endow- 
ment made it possible to complete the splendid building and fully equip the 
academy for the grand work it has since accomplished. 

Its first scholastic year began in September, 1887, and its enrollment of 
pupils has steadily increased from that date. The institution is under the 
care of the Presbytery of Emporia. It is, however, in no sense sectarian, its 
board of trustees, as well as its faculty, being composed of members of vari- 
ous evangelical churches. While religious instruction is regularly given, the 
theological tenets of no particular church are in any way sought to be im- 
pressed upon the pupils. 

This school was, however, conceived and organized by men whose sole de- 



94 History of Education in Kansas. 

sire was and is to make it an efficient agency in honoring God and saving 
souls. Its entire influence is expected to be, now and in the ages to come, on 
the side of Christ, and for the spreading of His gospel. 

The academy property is valued at $75,000. The courses are : Classical, 
scientific, normal, preparatory, and kindergarten. 

UNITED PRESBYTERIANS. 

Cooper Memorial College, at Sterling, F. M. Spencer, president, is the re- 
sult of the enterprising spirit of the citizens of Sterling. In October, 1886, 
the Sterling Land and Investment Company offered the site and building, on 
condition that the synod endow the institution. The synod accepted this 
offer, on condition that it have five years in which to raise the endowment. 
A committee of the synod was appointed to confer with the company. The 
company accepted the conditions made by the synod, and a contract was 
made between the company and synod's committee. 

In honor of the late Kev. Joseph T. Cooper, D. D., professor in the Alle- 
gheny Theological Seminary, well known and beloved throughout the United 
Presbyterian Church, the name "Coooper Memorial" was given, as a tribute 
of respect. 

The doors were opened to students November 1, 1887. The $25,000 en- 
dowment promised by the Synod of Kansas was raised before the expiration 
of the five years. 

The courses of study are : Classical, scientific, English, normal, music and 
art, commercial, and preparatory. 

All students are required to recite a Bible lesson once a week. Each stu- 
dent will be required to pass an examination in the common English branches 
each year. Thoroughness is the aim in all the departments. 

UNITED BRETHREN. 

Two colleges, with 20 teachers and 400 students, have been established by 
the United Brethren. 

Central College, Enterprise; J. A. Weller, president. The entire atmos- 
phere and influence of this school are those of simple, genuine Christian relig- 
ion. While the managers and teachers of the institution are members of the 
United Brethren Church, and are interested in building up that church, 
which now owns the property, no sectarian restraints are placed upon any 
student. The churches, English and German, welcome members of the 
school to their services. Such is the spirit of high moral sentiment, that it 
is almost impossible for pupils to fall into evil habits or dissolute company. 

The college was founded by men and women of faith, who have at heart 
the glory of God and the salvation of souls. The managers desire that the 
institution continually exert its influence for morality and for the advance- 
ment of spiritual religion. In their circulars they say : 

We do not represent the old "iron-clad" college government, nor do we believe 
in anarchy. We aim to so inspire that the students will wish to do just the right. 



Denominational Schools. 95 

thing. The liberty-loving students of the West do not relish being fettered by iron 
laws, but are ready to practice self-government if well directed. We expect every 
man to be a gentleman and every woman a lady. Any violation of this rule will be 
carefully looked after by the faculty. "If God be for us, who can be against us?' r 
Founding a successful college is no small work, and must necessarily be slow. A 
college like Central, with the principle, "No Debt," is especially likely to have a long, 
hard struggle; yet this is the true plan. Notwithstanding this, Central College has 
made rapid progress. An attendance of 147 students during the first year is re- 
markable. The^ college has won this by its own merits. This progress has not been 
made without opposition, but every attempt at suppression has proved abortive. 
Clearly, the hand of Providence is with Central College. With the motto, "In God 
we trust," the college has a grand future before it. 

The value of all property is estimated at $90,000. Classical, scientific, 
literary, normal, commercial, music and art and preparatory courses of study 
are provided. 

Lane University, Charles M. Brooke, president, is located at Lecompton, 
once the capital of Kansas. One of the college buildings now stands upon 
the old capitol foundation. While good morals are insisted upon, no secta- 
rianism is taught. Students who are members of any church, or of no 
church, are welcome to these halls of learning. The courses of study are 
similar to those at Enterprise. The total value of the college property is 
about $50,000. The institution was founded in 1865. 



Business Scbools, 



^ I ^HE 10 principal business schools in the State are located at Atchison, 
-■- Conway Springs, Lawrence, Leavenworth, Ottawa, Salina, Topeka, 
Wichita, and Winfield. Total number of teachers, 55 ; pupils, 1,627. 

The general demand for facilities in acquiring the art of doing business in 
a, somewhat systematic manner, in a few weeks or months, without any or 
very little attempt at mental culture, has given to nearly every city of over 
4,000 inhabitants in Kansas a business college. The principal subjects of 
study in these schools are indicated by their names, a partial list of which is 
here given : 

Atchison Business College, Atchison. 

The New Kapid Shorthand Institute, Winfield. 

Business School, Lawrence. 

Telegraph Institute, Ottawa. 

Leavenworth Business College, Leavenworth. 

Central Business College, Leavenworth. 

Emporia Business College, Emporia. 

Salina School of Telegraphy, Salina. 

Wichita Business College, Wichita. 

Western School of Oratory, Wichita. 

Wichita Telegraph College, Wichita. 

School of Typewriting and Shorthand, Wichita. 

Topeka Business College, Topeka. 

The Standard School of Shorthand, Topeka. , 

Normal and Business College, Conway Springs. 

The mission of these schools, from their point of view, is well stated in a 
catalogue issued by the Lawrence and Atchison Business Colleges, and is here 
quoted entire: 

These institutions are just what their names would indicate — colleges of busi- 
ness. The true business college occupies its own peculiar field as an educational 
factor, not by proclaiming itself in opposition to other schools, but rather by fur- 
nishing its pupils a course of training that is at least practical and of daily utility. 
It is a well-known fact that the failure of literary and general schools to prepare for 
the duties of the countingroom and the every-day transaction of business called 
into being the institutions of special business training. Small in their beginning, 
they have grown in public favor so rapidly that they are now universally recognized 
as powerful agents in the educational world, publishing text-books especially adapted 
to the needs of business men, and inculcating in the minds of over 50,000 young men 
and women annually a knowledge of those subjects most needed in their daily lives. 

(96) 



Business Schools. 97 

This is an age of specialists. If a young man wants to become a doctor, he attends 
a medical college; if he wants to become a lawyer, he goes to a law school; and if he 
wants to prepare himself for the ministry, he enters a theological seminary. These 
are all schools of special training, devoted to their special professions. Ours are 
schools for business, and a preparation for successfully assuming the responsibilities 
of business is all we pretend or desire to give. We make a specialty of those branches 
which are absolutely essential to every man and woman, rich or poor, professional, 
artisan, or laborer, and strive with each succeeding year to make our course of in- 
struction stronger, better, and more applicable to the requirements of practical life, 
by divesting it, as far as possible, of those features which the experience of every 
business man has proven to be almost valueless after leaving school. We pay no 
attention to Greek or Latin, to art or music. The student can easily obtain instruc- 
tion in these branches in the art schools and literary colleges of our land. But the 
student who wants a sound, common-sense business education should select a school 
which teaches that and nothing else. Too many schools, laboring under the grand 
idea of making themselves the educational centers of the universe, weaken and coun- 
teract the good they might do within certain clearly-defined limits, by their vain 
assumption of duties for which they are in no degree fitted or prepared, and by hid- 
ing and covering the practical with the impractical. Our course does not cover a 
wide range cf studies, but what we do teach we teach well, and in that lies the key 
to our success. Not many things hastily passed over and imperfectly understood, 
but a few things absolutely mastered, are stepping-stones to worldly prosperity. 



1btetor\> ant> ©rowtb of Scbools, b\> Counties, 



ATCHISON COUNTY. 

"PCT O history of this county was prepared by the proper officer. The his- 
-*- ^ tory of the schools in its largest city, which follows, was written by 
Supt. J. H. Glotfelter. 

Atchison City Schools. — District No. 1, in Atchison, including the territory 
now in the city of Atchison, was organized in 1858. The first district board con- 
sisted of James Coulter, 0. F. Short, and F. G. Adams. The first school was opened 
November 20, 1858, P. D. Plattenburg being the principal. For 10 years the schools 
were kept in rented buildings. The basement of the Congregational Church, on 
Fourth near Kansas avenue, the lower floor of the old Masonic building that stood 
near the corner of Eighth and Commercial streets, the upper floor of Mr. David 
Auld's building, on Commercial street near Sixth, and probably other buildings, 
served as schoolrooms during these years. Plattenburg was followed by a man 
named Sawyer, and he by a Mr. Negley. A German school was taught by a teacher 
named Dengel, he being followed by Mr. Marcus. Miss Sarah Steele, Miss Wick- 
ham and Miss Lizzie Bay taught during this time, also. The names of Hugh Bay, 
W. H. Grimes, Col. P. T. Abell, P. H. Woodard and L. A. Alderson are prominently 
connected with the history of this period. 

June 3, 1867, the city schools were organized under the law creating "boards of 
education" in cities of the second class; and Wm. Scoville, Wm. C. Smith, M. L. Gay- 
lord, L. R. Elliott, John A. Martin, Julius Holthaus, Geo. W. Gillespie and Jacob 
Poehler were the first board. 

In 1868, a large school building was erected on the east two-thirds of the block 
lying between Santa Fe and Atchison streets, and fronting on Fifth avenue. This 
was a three-story brick, 12-room building, and was the first building owned by the 
board. In 1869, in October, this building was totally destroyed by fire, and the 
schools, after enjoying for a few months their new and magnificent home, as it then 
must have seemed, were compelled to return to the stores and churches, where they 
had lived for 10 years. But the board had, fortunately, a large insurance upon the 
building, which was sufficient to rebuild and refit, in better style than the first the 
building which now stands upon the same foundation. The board then consisted of 
Wm. Scoville, Wm. C. Smith, M. L. Gaylord, J. T. Coplan, Capt. Wm. Bowman, A. B. 
McQueen, Jacob Poehler, and George Storch. In 1871, they had the present com- 
modious building ready for occupancy. This building, known as the Central school 
until 1892, when it was named the Ingalls, has eight schoolrooms on the two lower 
floors, and excellent accommodations for the high school on the third floor. The 
assembly hall of the high school will seat 150 students, and is well lighted and seated. 
Its windows look upon a view of city, river, woods and plain that is unexcelled for 
beauty in Kansas. The recitation rooms are large and comfortable. 

Other buildings have been erected as the growth of the city has warranted, until 
there are now six well-arranged brick structures; three of six rooms each, one of 
eight, one of ten, and the Ingalls building above described. 

(98) 



Atchison County. 99 

The first superintendent of the schools was B. T. Bradford, who organized the 
graded system. Mr. Bradford was succeeded, after a term of four years, by a man 
named Owens, who served but one year. Supt. R. H. Jackson followed him, and 
managed the schools until June, 1876, when J. C. Scott was elected to succeed him, and 
served until 1878. In 1878, C. S. Sheffield became superintendent, and served until 
1880, when R. C. Meade was elected. Mr. Meade was superintendent until December, 
1886, when he was superseded by F. M. Draper, and in 1889 he was followed by Buel 
T. Davis. Mr. Davis was succeeded, in 1891, by J. H. Glotfelter, who is superintendent 
at this date. 

The schools are maintained during nine months in each year. The elementary 
course is divided into eight grades, each grade including a year's work; each grade 
is divided into two classes, and promotions are made on the completion of each half 
grade, or class. 

No examinations are held for promotion. The work of each month is reviewed, 
and a written exercise, representative of the month's work, is preserved for refer- 
ence. These written exercises are graded, and pupils averaging 75 per cent, are 
promoted without question; pupils averaging less than 75 are taken under consid- 
eration by the principal, and if the teacher recommends it, and the papers written 
during the term bear out her judgment, they are passed. The purpose is to remove 
the nervous tension accompanying formal examinations. 

The elementary course includes, besides the common branches, drawing, music, 
and calisthenics. No special teachers are employed. 

The Atchison public high school was organized about 1880, and since then has 
graduated 130 young men and women. The course fits for the State University, 
where our graduates are admitted without examination. The teachers are prin- 
cipally our own graduates. Many of our young men are carrying on successful 
business enterprises, or are rising in the professions. 

The teachers of the city meet monthly, at which time lectures on pedagogy and 
kindred topics are delivered by the superintendent; besides these, classes in other 
branches are organized and kept up during the school year, at the end of which time 
the teachers are examined upon the work done, and their averages are accredited on 
their certificates. Monthly grade meetings are held, when the grade work is dis- 
cussed, experiences compared, and mutual conference indulged in. This dissemi- 
nates the best methods we are in possession of, and, by the mutual planning, each 
teacher has a definite aim for the month. 

The enrollment in the city schools, for 1892, was 2,154. Private and parochial 
schools have a large patronage, so that all our school population between 6 and 14 
years of age is being educated. 

In looking over the records, we find the names of many of our most influential 
citizens among the members of the various boards of education, such as John A. 
Martin, George Storch, Capt. John Seaton, S. H. Kelsey, T. J. White, E. A. Mize, 
T. Tarrant, James H. Garside, W. S. Cain, and A. F. Martin. 

Three ladies have been members of the board, Mrs. Maher, Miss Lydia Stockwell, 
and Mrs. L. A. Hambleton. 

The present board consists of J. T. Hersey, president; James H. Garside, vice 
president; Chas. H. Farwell, J. T. Allensworth, J. F. Woodhouse, A. F. Gratigny, Jon- 
athan Walizer, W. R. Fletcher, L. H. Swisher, and G. C. Wattles. 

The whites and negroes are educated in separate schools, below the high school. 
In the latter, they attend the same school. 

By the unfaltering support that the people of Atchison have always given her 
schools, we are led to believe that they have no public interest that is dearer to them 
than their system of education. 



100 History of Education in Kansas. 



BOURBON COUNTY. 

No history of this county was prepared by the proper officer. The history 
of the schools in its largest city, which follows, was written by Supt. Guy P. 
Benton. 

Fort Scott City Schools —District No. 55, Bourbon county, Kansas — what 
is now known as the Fort Scott city school district — was organized in 1865, with 
Hon. P. P. Elder, now of Franklin county, and ex-Speaker of the Kansas House of 
Representatives, at that time Indian agent, as president of the board of education, 
Hon. C. F. Drake, now president of the Bank of Fort Scott, as clerk, and "Uncle 
Billy" Smith, as he was familiarly known, as treasurer. At that time, including 
Government troops and refugees, there were about 25,000 people in the town. 

The first school opened in the fall of 1865, and rooms for school purposes were 
fitted up in one of the old Government buildings on the plaza, now used as an om- 
nibus barn, and in the old courthouse, recently torn down, on the corner of Na- 
tional avenue and Second street. A Mr.'Remsburg was the first principal, employed 
at a salary of $60 per month. The money for school support was from Government 
funds, and no direct assessment was levied. 

In 1869, the only school in the town was the one of four rooms in the Govern- 
ment building, above referred to, under the principalship of a Mr. Craven. The 
following year, 1870, in'addition to this school in the Government building, hence- 
forward known as the Plaza school, four ward schools, of one room each, were 
established in different parts of the city. Col. T. W. McKinnie was elected superin- 
tendent, with some teaching to do, and the schools began under his administration 
to keep step with the forward march of civilization. 

During 1869 and 1870, the Central school, the large, 12-room brick building still 
in use, on the square bounded by National avenue, Fourth, Fifth and Judson streets, 
was erected, at a cost of $65,000. 

In 1873, Superintendent McKinnie was succeeded by R. B. Dilworth, now pastor 
of the Presbyterian'Church at Astoria, Ore. In the fall of this same year the new 
four-room building known as the Margrave school was first occupied. Mr. Dilworth 
formulated the first course of study, and, although superintendent but one year, gave 
the schools an impetus that has been an inspiration for years. 

Superintendent Hutchinson followed Mr. Dilworth, and remained in charge of 
the schools during the years 1874-'75 and 1875-'76. The two years following, 
1876-77 and 1878-78, Superintendents Philo and Phales, respectively, were in 
charge. 

In September, 1878, B. Hudson, now a very prominent attorney and chairman of 
the metropolitan police commission of the city, was elected superintendent, and 
served for seven years. During his superintendency three additional brick build- 
ings were erected, as follows: The Eddy school, the Wilson school, and the Plaza 
school. The latter is used for colored pupils only, and supplanted the old stone 
Government building. Mr. Chas. Demoisey succeeded Mr. Hudson, in 1885, and re- 
mained in charge of the schools two years. 

In 1887, three elegant brick buildings, with all modern appliances, the Main 
Street school, the Ivy school, and the Bell school, were erected, and that able and 
cultured gentlemen, so many years one of the leading educators of Michigan, Supt. 
D. Bemiss, took control of the schools. He was a graduate of the University of To- 
ronto, and added to his superior education were years of experience, which enabled 
him to give the schools a place and name never enjoyed before. 

In 1888, the city had grown to a population of 15,000, and became a city of the 



Bourbon County. 10 1 

first class; and, as a result, the tax levy for school purposes was cut from 10 mills to 
7 mills. The following year the revenue was so reduced that Mr. Bemiss, to the re- 
gret of everybody, resigned, to accept the superintendency of the schools at Spo- 
kane Falls, Wash., which position he still holds, and enjoys the distinction of being 
known as one of the best superintendents west of the Rockies. 

Rev. Henry C. Bosley followed Superintendent Bemiss, and began work in the 
fall of 1889. He was a graduate of the University of Rochester, and a man of many 
years' experience, but at the time he took charge of the Fort Scott schools he was in 
very poor health, and after a long and heroic battle with that dread disease con- 
sumption, he died February 27, 1890. 

Guy P. Benton, educated at the Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio, prin- 
cipal of the high school at the time of Mr. Bosley's death, succeeded the latter, and 
is still in charge, now serving his fourth year. 

At present there are eight buildings owned by the board, and three rented ones, 
used for school purposes. The estimated value of school buildings is $110,000, and 
the bonded indebtedness $60,000. 

The census of 1892 shows 4,317 children of school age, and an enrollment of 2,603. 

Forty-four teachers are employed in the schools, of which number four work ex- 
clusively in the high school. 

The course of study in the grades is eight years in length, and three years in the 
high school; a diploma from the latter admitting to the State University without 
examination. 

Any teacher passing the teachers' examination with a minimum grade of 70 per 
cent, in any one branch, and an average of 90 per cent, or above in all branches, is 
granted a first-grade certificate, which is valid for life in the city of Fort Scott. 

It is but just to say that the corps of teachers now at work in the schools is very 
efficient in every way, and that the school system is one of the best west of the Mis- 
sissippi river. 

The principals of the various schools at present are as follows: David M. Bowen, 
high school; Stephen D. Frazier, Central; Miss Lucy A. Ware, Eddy; Clarence 0. 
Humphrey, Bell; Archibald M. Wilson, Plaza; John D. Orr, Ivy; John C. Richmond, 
Margrave; William D. Cowherd, Wilson; Miss Melissa A. Green, Main Street. 

A personal tribute is due many of the teachers, but a history of the Fort Scott 
schools would be incomplete without an account of one of the most historic charac- 
ters connected therewith; therefore, it seems fitting to close with a brief sketch of 
the oldest teacher, in point of service, in the schools. 

Miss Sara D. Bates, a young schoolgirl from Evansville, Ind., came to Fort 
Scott in the fall of 1870, and began teaching in one of the ungraded ward schools, 
and is now serving her twenty-third year, having been in the schools continuously 
since that time. After the first year she began to give her attention to primary 
methods, and since then has been engaged exclusively in that grade of work. She 
was the first teacher employed in the Margrave school, and when that building, dur- 
ing school hours of the bitter-cold day of January 2, 1879, took fire and burned to 
the ground, by her heroic cool-headedness she saved the life of every child, and sent 
them home with their wraps and books. The new Margrave school was erected and 
she began again, and, altogether, taught 18 years in that one school. 

In 1890, she was transferred to the primary department of the Central school, 
where she is now employed with children as pupils whose parents were her pupils. 

Although long in the service, she does not fossilize; but every year visits the 
schools of our larger cities, and during the summer puts herself in training for an- 
other year's work. Colonel Parker, after having visited her school two years since, 
remarked, "I consider her one of the finest primary teachers on the American con- 



102 History of Education in Kansas. 

fcinent." Modest and retiring, yet energetic and enthusiastic, she combines those 
traits of character that make her a veritable queen of her little kingdom, and she 
draws to herself and so lifts up the boys and girls committed to her care that for- 
ever after their aims are high. May she be spared for yet many years. She has 
been an inspiration to many a life that will be an enduring monument to her good 
deeds for all time. 



BROWN COUNTY. 



No history of this county was prepared by the proper officer. The same 
is true of the schools in its various town systems. The history of Hiawatha 
Academy, located in this county, was written by its principal, A. H. Cowles- 

Hiawatha Academy. — Biography has been defined as the history of a single 
soul. It is considered one of the most interesting departments of literature, chiefly 
because men appreciate the truth expressed in Faust's words — "Man alone is inter- 
esting to man." This maxim, however, has a broad interpretation, and applies as 
much to the institutions and exploits of men as to the men themselves. We propose 
to present to the reader not the history of a single soul, but some historical facts in 
the life of an educational institution, well known as Hiawatha Academy, which, 
although young, has made for itself an enviable reputation. We believe this record 
will show that the early'faith and high expectations of the original movers in the 
enterprise are being abundantly realized. 

As early as the year 1881, an ideal conception of an endowed seminary of learn- 
ing to be planted at Hiawatha, the leading city of the foremost county of Kansas, 
existed in the mind and was upon the heart of that generous and public-spirited 
citizen, Hon. Edmund N. Morrill. At this time there was not a so-called academy in 
the State, though there were a number of schools doing merely academic work, under 
the delusive names of colleges land universities. Major Morrill pondered upon his 
plan for several years, and awaited a favorable opportunity for bringing it before 
the people. In the summer of 1884, a meeting was held at the residence of Doctor 
Pratt, where, to a few interested citizens, proposals of substantial aid for the found- 
ing of a Congregational preparatory school were submitted by Pres. Peter McVicar, 
of Washburn College, seconded by another proposition of a land gift from Mr. Mor- 
rill. The condition attached to these offers was that $20,000 be raised by the people. 
Although all felt that this was a fine opportunity to secure much-needed assistance, 
the matter was at length dropped, because of the uncertainty of obtaining the stip- 
ulated funds for a denominational school. 

Finally, in the year 1887, the subject of an academy for northeastern Kansas was 
again revived, and discussed with renewed earnestness. The project seemed more 
and more feasible. An ideal institution was presented to the citizens. It was felt 
that it should be a school which in time would emulate perhaps the far-famed acade- 
mies of old England, or the not less reputable institutions of Puritan New England. 

The Hiawatha Improvement Association began to agitate the matter. As a re- 
sult, great enthusiasm was aroused. Major Morrill was appealed to, and, although 
Washburn College was unable to renew its proposal of endowment funds, he willingly 
donated the land for the site, and subscribed $10,000, one-half to be paid in cash and 
the balance in five annual installments, the condition being that the people raise $20,- 
000 more. Mr. C. H. Janes immediately subscribed $1,000; others followed, and the 
sum was at last raised through the energetic efforts of such men as Rev. J. B. Richard- 
son, Hon. M. S. Smalley, and other prominent citizens. Washburn College gener- 



Butler County, 103 

ously paid in $500 towards the current expenses of the first year. Thus the academy 
was born — a possibility at first; a probability, later; finally, a reality. The com- 
modious new brick building, located on a commanding eminence in the eastern part 
of the city, was formally and suitably dedicated August 21, 1888, with an excellent 
address by Chancellor J. A. Lippincott, of the State University, and other appropri- 
ate exercises. September 11, 1888, the academy began its work, having about 90 
pupils in attendance and an efficient corps of instructors, with Prof. J. Edw. Banta, 
an experienced teacher and an Amherst graduate, at the head. From the outset the 
work in all the departments was very successful. The pupils were active and enthu- 
siastic. In those early days of 1889, a paper called the Academic Acta was published 
for three months by the students and faculty. A literary and debating society was 
established, and flourished. Christian work, under the auspices of Y. M. C. A. and 
Y. W. C. A. organizations, was carried on just as vigorously as at present. 

The first class, of two members, was graduated June 14, 1889, the young lady 
carrying off the valedictory. Of the eight students in the next class, the young 
men were in the majority, and so quite easily secured the honors. Large classes 
were graduated in 1891 and 1892, and the alumni list now numbers 45 members- 
Every one of these, as a loyal son or daughter, gladly greets alma mater with heart- 
iest good wishes for the present and the future. Besides this strong band of alumni, 
the institution has sent out many others, even to the number of 250, who, though 
unable to graduate, feel that their brightest school days were passed within the walls 
of this academy. 

During this, the fifth year of the institution's life, is it not wise to take a retro- 
spective view? May we not praise the past, endeavor to improve the present, and 
invoke blessings upon the future? Aye, we can certainly do this. The history of the 
past is made, and well made. The present, with its increased attendance of pupils, 
its corps of earnest and faithful teachers, devoted to their work in the several de- 
partments, and its board of trustees, well represented by such business men as 
Smalley, Adams, Morrill, Bierer, and Wilder, is writing notable lines of history. 



BUTLEE COUNTY.* 



Butler is one of Kansas' pioneer counties. It was first settled in 1855; but it 
was not until eight years later that its school system, within the present boundaries, 
was fairly set agoing, by the election of its first school superintendent. It is my 
purpose to sketch the growth of education in the several towns of the county, and 
follow this outline with a few lines of personal biography concerning the several 
superintendents to whom the supervision of the schools has been intrusted. 

The towns of the county are: El Dorado (the county seat), Augusta, Douglass, 
Leon, Benton, White Water, Potwin, Brainerd, Beaumont, Keighley, Pontiac, Rosa- 
lia, Chelsea, Latham, Providence, Gordon, and Elbing. 

The El Dorado schools are graded, and working under a course of study pre- 
pared by H. C. Ford, now of Parsons, Kas. There are 1,253 pupils in the schools; 
16 teachers; four buildings in the city, and one in adjacent territory — excellent 
buildings. The superintendent is Prof. L. Tomlin; principals, Wm. Fisher, Frank 
Mitchell, Walter Powell, and Stella Long. The first school in the city was taught 
by Edwin Cowles, M. D., a gentleman still resident here. Some of the prominent 
superintendents of El Dorado schools have been: Professors Olin, Ford, Fertich, 
Shively, and Tomlin; some of the principals: Alfred McCaskey, H. W. Schumacher, 

*By Claba H. Hazelkigg, county superintendent. 



104 History of Education in Kansas. 

Hattie Horner, Ida Fleming, Nora Brumback, Dora Montgomery, Mrs. H. M. Rich- 
ardson, Agnes Grove, Mary Parsons, Clara Hazelrigg, and Nettie Murdock. 

The Augusta schools are graded. Eight teachers are employed in one large and 
handsome building. H. V. Butcher, former superintendent of Wilson county, is the 
principal: Edward O'Bryan, assistant. Augusta schools enroll 473 pupils. The su- 
perintendents have been: Professors Shively, Olin, McGregor, Ford, Speer, Cady r 
Leidy, and Butcher. 

Douglass, named in honor of J. W. Douglass, deceased, has graded schools. A 
arge and convenient building. Present principal is W. J. Speer. Douglass enrolls 
348 pupils. The principals have been: H. W. Schumacher, now county attorney, 
Miss Kelley, Professors Shively, McGregor, Speer. Employs six teachers. 

Leon also has graded schools, working under a course of study prepared by El- 
mer "Wiseman, the present principal. Employs five teachers. Enrolls 283 pupils. 
Its principals have been: S. L. Hodge, Frank Rickey, J. M. Dilts, S. J. Pottle, L. E. 
McClane, Elmer Wiseman. 

Benton, Potwin, Towanda, Brainerd, Andover, Latham and White Water each 
employs two teachers, and has excellent two-roomed school buildings. There are 
many good single schoolhouses throughout the county, and more in course of erec- 
tion. There are in all 165 school districts in the county, and an enrollment of 8,486 
pupils. 

El Dorado has a good library in connection with her schools. Augusta furnishes 
free text-books, and there are several other good libraries connected with the schools 
of the county. 

The Butler county district schools are graded, and working under the course of 
study outlined in the classification register used in the schools. The work is divided 
into three departments — primary, intermediate, and advanced. When the entire 
course is completed, pupils take a final examination. If they make the required 
average, they receive a diploma. 

There have been held, so far, 16 institutes in Butler county, and the 17th will be- 
gin June 5, 1893, with Mrs. Lillian Picken, conductor; Professors Picken, Yickrey r 
and Thomas, instructors. 

The county examining board is composed of the following persons: Clara H. 
Hazelrigg, Fannie H. Wilson, J. R. Haven. 

A large per cent, of the teachers of Butler county belong to the county reading 
circle, and nearly all attend the meetings. 

The county superintendents have been as follows: Martin Vaught, 1864-'66, now 
living at Ness City, Kas. L. D. McCabe, 1866-'68, is dead. H. D. Kellogg, 1868-'69, 
is a practicing physician in Michigan. 

John E. Buchanan, 1869-'71, began his superintendency with 12 organized dis- 
tricts under his supervision, and closed his administration with 26. He made and 
published the first school map of the county. To his own scholarship was added 
that of his wife, who assisted him much in his work. Superintendent Buchanan 
fitted for his work by taking a three-years' course in the University of New York. 
During the opening years of the "reconstruction period" he was a teacher in the 
freedmen's schools of Nashville and Murfreesborough, Tenn., and for one year was 
superintendent of those schools. He is at present a successful farmer near Chelsea,. 
Kas. 

Samuel L. Shotwell, 1871-'1873, organized the schools to much better advantage. 
He is a resident of Utah Territory. 

L. S. Roberds, 1873-'74, at the close of his one year of office, removed to Carbon- 
dale, Kas., to practice medicine. 

John Blevins, from 1874'-75. 



Clark County. 105 

C. N. James, 1875-'76, was one of those early educators of Kansas who received 
such princely remuneration for their services. He taught at Mound City for $5 per 
month. He also taught in the Leavenworth and Council Grove schools, and con- 
ducted the first school on the present site of Augusta, in a log store building. This 
building was afterwards converted into a post office, and the city of one house was 
named Augusta, by way of doing honor to Mr. James's wife. Mr. James has been 
dead for several years. 

Alvah Shelden, 1876-'80, has been the editor of the only daily paper in Butler 
county, The Daily Times, for 13 years. During his superintendency, and in the col- 
umns of his paper, he has steadfastly urged upon the State of Kansas the adoption 
of uniform text-books, free of expense to the pupils. 

J. W. Shively, 1880-84, organized a greater number of districts than did any 
other superintendent, and brought out the first course of study used in Butler 
county schools. In addition to his work as superintendent, he has served as prin- 
cipal of the Augusta, Douglass and Howard schools, and is one of Butler's foremost 
educators. 

Hayward Webb, 1884-'86, after completing one term, removed to California, 
where he is now engaged in school work. 

Austin Brumback, 1886-90, is now a successful lawyer. 

Mrs. Florence Olmsted, 1890-'92, was the first woman to hold a county office in 
Butler. She secured the adoption of county uniformity of text-books, and organ- 
ized the teachers' reading circle. She died from a hemorrhage of the lungs, before 
the expiration of her term of office, December 24, 1892. 

Clara H. Hazelrigg, 1893, the present incumbent, has been teaching in Kansas 
since 1884, and was for several years principal of one of the schools in the city of 
El Dorado. Mrs. Hazelrigg, in conjunction with Artie Pefney, edits the only paper 
entirely devoted to educational affairs in the county, The Educational Advance. 



CLARK COUNTY.* 



Clark county was organized by Gov. John A. Martin, May 5, 1885. Previously it 
had been under the jurisdiction of Ford county, whose superintendent organized 
one school district, the record of which is as follows: "School district No. 1, county 
of Clark, formed January 12, 1884; preliminary notices posted January 18; notices 
of first district meeting posted February 16; Norval Dudley was elected director, 
Mrs. Nannie Baker, treasurer, and W. T. Wade, clerk." The first school was taught 
by Hamilton Myers, in a small frame building. 

In October, 1884, the town of Ashland was located within the limits of district 
No. 1, and, in the following summer, was made the county seat. Therefore, in more 
respects than one, district No. 1 is the first in the county. The schoolhouse site was 
changed to Ashland, and Mrs. I. M. Walker taught the next school. Sometime in the 
summer of 1886, bonds were voted to build a schoolhouse. The foundations were 
completed, when the school board decided that the rapidly growing town needed a 
better house than the one contemplated. More bonds were voted, and the next 
spring a two-story brick building, with accommodations for 300 pupils, was con- 
tracted for. In August, when the house was nearing completion, it accidentally 
caught fire, and became a total loss in a few minutes. The foundation was not dam- 
aged, and another house like the one destroyed was built thereon and ready for use 
the following January. 

By W. L. Cowden, county superintendent of schools. 



106 History of Education in Kansas. 

While the above-described building was being erected, school was held in the 
Methodist and Presbyterian Churches. Three teachers were employed: W. L. Cow- 
den, principal; Mrs. S. C. Donnell, first assistant, and Miss Minnie Young, second as- 
sistant. Mr. Cowden resigned before the end of the school year, and Mrs. Donnell 
was promoted to the vacancy. Geo. W. Carr, the next principal, served two years, 
followed by C. W. Mills, one year; D. A. Tear, one year, and W. L. Cowden, two 
years. The school is thoroughly graded, and has a high-school course of three years. 
It is the only school in the county offering advanced instruction, and some of its 
students are among the most successful teachers in the country schools. 

At the first election held after the organization of the county, June 16, 1885, C. C. 
Mansfield was elected county superintendent, and served till the end of the year. 
He had J. B. Bradley and W. L. Cowden appointed associate examiners, and held the 
first examination for granting teachers' certificates October 31. During his term 
of office, and prior to January, 1886, Superintendent Mansfield organized 15 school 
districts, with an enumeration of more than 500 children. 

At the general election in November, 1885, Dr. C. S. Williams was elected to suc- 
ceed Superintendent Mansfield, and was twice reelected, serving, in all, five years. 
He completed the organization of the county into school districts, held a normal 
institute each year, organized a teachers' association, conducted an educational col- 
umn in local papers, and did much in general for the educational interests of the 
county. W. L. Cowden was elected in 1890, to succeed Doctor Williams, and was 
reelected in 1892. 

The first county normal institute was held at Ashland, in the Presbyterian Church, 
during August, 1886. Four-weeks sessions have been held each year since. The 
conductors have been: B. S. McFarland, C. S. Williams, D. A. Tear, and John Cur- 
ran. Mrs. S. C. Donnell, Mrs. Julia A. Crane, Geo. W. Carr, J. W. Campf and W. L. 
Cowden have served as instructors. Each session has cost about $150, and from 50 
to 60 students have been enrolled every year. As a rule, the teachers who attend the 
institute do better work than those who do not. District officers have learned this, 
and young teachers who do not attend the county normal find it a little difficult to 
obtain schools, when others, who have institute training, can be employed. 

A county teachers' association was organized early in the history of the county, 
and from four to eight meetings are held each year. The meetings are held at the 
county seat during the winter, and at other places in the spring and autumn. The 
gatherings in the smaller towns and in the country are better attended and are more 
interesting than those held at the county seat. On such occasions, the farmers and 
friends of education turn out with their families, picnic fashion, and make a day of 
it. 

In 1891, a reading circle was organized. Nearly all the teachers became mem- 
bers. Through the superintendent's office, 35 sets of the adopted books were fur- 
nished to teachers. County and township meetings were held, but not with much 
success. 

In nearly all the districts, the first schools were taught in dugouts and sod houses 
most convenient to the patrons. Usually they were abandoned "claim" houses. 
Only a few were built for school purposes, and two or three of these improvised 
temples of learning are still in use. In 40 districts there are now good, substantial 
frame or brick buildings. All are supplied with approved furniture, and a major- 
ity furnished with dictionaries, maps, charts, and globes. A few districts have small 
libraries. The average cost of the frame houses and furniture is about $800. Be- 
sides the brick building at Ashland, already described, Englewood has a neat brick 
schoolhouse worth $5,000. 

The following comparative statement will show briefly the progress of our 



Cloud County. 107 

schools: During the school year ending June 1, 1886, 32 teachers were employed, 
22 being females. The average salary was $20 per month, for both male and female 
teachers" The enrollment for the year was 465, and the average daily attendance 
328. During the school year ending June 30, 1892, 54 teachers were employed, 35 
of whom were females. The average salary of male teachers was $36.14, and of fe- 
males, $31.40. The enrollment for the year was 690, and the average daily attend- 
ance 531. The total expenditure during the year for all purposes was $12,858.48. 



CLOUD COUNTY.* 



In the month of May, 1864, a party of five might have been seen wending their 
way from the "Elm creek settlement," where Clyde is now situated, to the present 
town of Washington, Kas., then only one log hut. The member of the party in whom 
we are interested was Miss Rosella Honey, who was seeking a Mr. Horfine, superin- 
tendent of Washington county, and also of Shirley, now Cloud, for the purpose of 
taking a teacher's examination. There were no roads — only the paths of the buf- 
falo and the dim trail made by an occasional wagon. At last darkness overtook our 
friends, and they lost their way. There was not the glimmer of a friendly light, near 
or far, to beckon them on — yet on they went, and at last the barking of a dog told 
them they were not alone in that lonely region. A rude cabin was found, the in- 
mates aroused, and the information received that they were several miles out of their 
way, also that the superintendent had gone to Junction City to mill. The journey 
had been made in vain, and must be made again. Imagine the disappointment of 
the party, especially Miss Honey, who was anxious, as teachers usually are, to take 
the examination. 

A second attempt was more successful. The examination consisted of a few oral 
questions in arithmetic, grammar, and geography. More than this, she read a par- 
agraph in a newspaper and wrote her name. Compare this with two days' continu- 
ous writing, after four weeks' hard work in the institute, and most teachers will 
conclude that it was something to have lived in the "good old times." 

The next month, Miss Honey began the first school in what is now Cloud county. 
It was known as the " Elm creek school," and was taught in a log house, the typical 
early school building of the county. There were neither doors nor windows, only 
"logs left out." The floor was kindly provided by nature. The seats were logs split 
in halves, with pegs , which served as legs, driven in the convex side. Desks and 
blackboards there were none. 

Among the distinguished visitors during the term was a tribe of Otoe Indians. 

There were 18 pupils, and, for teaching these young ideas "how to shoot," Miss 
Honey received $8 per month. 

The term was three months in length, and the last day was celebrated by the 
marriage of the teacher to W. M. Wilcox. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox still live in Cloud 
county. 

In 1865, the first schoolhouse in Clyde, a log one, was raised by the people, who 
did the work in connection with a picnic. But it was not until some time in the 
winter that the building was ready for use. The first school was a subscription 
school, taught by a Doctor Rogers, who, it is said, often left the pupils to care for 
themselves while he went to the store to read the newspapers and talk politics with 
the loungers. The building was considered a very good one for the times, and 
served as a public meeting house on all occasions. The commissioners met here, 

*By Mrs. A. L. Bates, county superintendent. 



108 History of Education in Kansas. 

and in this house with a dirt roof, parts of which came through in piles on the desk 
and floor, the district court was convened. 

The Clyde schools now rank among the best in the county. Eight teachers are 
employed. The schools have been especially progressive under the principalship of 
E. P. MoMahon, who has served in that capacity for several years. 

In those early days, the curriculum of the educational work was necessarily very 
different from what it is to-day. Owing to the thinly-settled condition of the coun- 
try, the lack of good roads, and other inconveniences, public examinations were not 
to be thought of, although they were required by law. The superintendent usually 
gave the teacher an examination when he visited the school. 

Mr. D. M. Stackhouse, now one of the prominent business men of Concordia, was 
a pupil and one of the pioneer teachers. He describes the early schools as follows: 

"Like schools in all new countries, the first ones were, from the very nature of 
the surroundings, rather crude. The school building partook of the nature of school- 
house and fort, while the teacher was master, or, more often, mistress, teacher, friend, 
guard, garrison, and officer in command. For eternal vigilance was the price of 
existence in this land, at that time the acknowledged home of the buffalo, antelope, 
rattlesnake, and the more treacherous enemy of the early settler, the Indian of the 
plain. 

"In those days, the subject of ventilation was not discussed in teachers' associa- 
tions, as the matter of most moment was how to prevent ventilation. The school- 
house was so open that, when the dogs chased a jack rabbit, the rabbit ran under 
the schoolhouse door, as-people in ancient times fled to a city of refuge when pur- 
sued by the avenger. 

"In 1868, a school, known then as the Solomon school, was established, where the 
city of Glasco now stands, and Miss Jennie Paxton was employed to teach a three- 
months subscription school, and 'board 'round.' 

"The close of this school was celebrated August 14, 1868, by the Cheyenne, Sioux 
and Arapahoe Indians, making the day one to be remembered by the settlers of 
Cloud county, and one that, but for the heroism and judgment of the brave little 
commander, would have proven a day of mourning to all whose little ones were en- 
trusted to her care. 

" The last two days of school were full of excitement, by reason of reported dep- 
redations of Indians, coupled with the fact that most of the men of the settlement 
had either gone away to seek work, or had gone to the assistance of settlers further 
up the river. On the morning of the last day of school, one of the men who had 
been up the river came dashing down the valley, giving the warning of immediate 
danger. The teacher collected her little flock around her, hurriedly distributed to 
them some tokens of remembrance, and, telling them of the danger, led them to the 
house of the nearest neighbor, just in time to escape the band of Indians, which 
was, even at that time, coming toward the schoolhouse, and which, a few minutes 
later, almost at the schoolhouse door, shot and left for dead Lewis Snyder, one of the 
little boys, who had gone back for his coat, which, in the hurry and excitement, he 
had forgotten. The little fellow, however, feigned death, and they left him lying on 
the prairie in the hot August sun, weak from the loss of blood. In about three 
hours he was rescued by a body of settlers. After days of suffering, and anxious 
care on the part of his parents and friends, he recovered. 

"Another one of the small boys of this school, Benny Misell, who, however, was 
not in attendance that day, was killed by the Indians, near his home, and his body left 
on the bank of the river where he fell. It was three or four days before his friends 
were able to reach him." 

The first school in Concordia was taught by Miss Emma M. Patrick, during the 
winter of 1871-72, in Donaldson's Hall, corner of Washington and Sixth streets, 



Cloud County. 109 

where the First National Bank now stands. From this germ has grown the leading 
school in the county. There are three fine public-school buildings in the city. Four- 
teen teachers are employed, under the judicious management of Supt. W. W. Reed. 

There are graded schools at Glasco, Jamestown, and Miltonvale, where excellent 
school buildings will accommodate four teachers and 200 or more pupils each. At 
Aurora, there is a graded school of two departments. 

An educational review of Cloud county would not be complete without mention 
of her Catholic schools. 

Nazareth Academy, in Concordia, conducted by the Sisters of St. Joseph, was es- 
tablished in October, 1884, by Sister M. Stanilaus. The average number of pupils 
is about 60. In connection with it is the parish or day school, which also averages 
about 60 pupils. 

St. Anne's School, at Clyde, was established by the Sisters in 1887. With this is 
an orphan asylum for girls, in which there are now 12 homeless ones. 

At St. Joseph, Cloud county, there is another Catholic school, having an attend- 
ance of about 130. With this is the orphans' home for boys. 

Doctor Lear was elected the first county superintendent of public instruction, 
but did not qualify, and A. A. Carnahan was appointed in his place, and was conse- 
quently the first acting superintendent. 

In the fall of 1867, J. B. Rupe, now the venerable editor of the Clyde Herald, was 
elected to this office. He was paid by the day, and his salary amounted to $21 for 
a year's service. 

The second superintendent, B. H. McEckron, received $50 for one year; then the 
salary increased with the population, till 1884, when it reached $1,200, where it has 
since remained. 

From the annual report of Mr. McEckron, October 1, 1869, it is found that there 
were nine organized school districts, and three log schoolhouses, valued at $160. 

The whole number of school children between the ages of 5 and 21 years was 264; 
the number of pupils enrolled, 110; average daily attendance, 10i; average length 
of term, 4f months; number teachers employed — male 1, female 6, total 7; salary 
paid teachers — male $35, female $22, average $23.85. The county received from 
State school fund and State school tax, $301.92; from district school tax, $27; total 
expense for teachers, $302; total for repairs, fuel, and incidentals, $27. 

In. 1870, the number of organized districts increased to 26; in 1872, to 65; in 
1873, to 79. Thus the good work has gone on, until now there are 110 districts, 112 
school buildings, and 137 school-rooms. The estimated value of school property is 
$118,375; paid out for school purposes during last school year, $54,260.81; popula- 
tion between ages of 5 and 21 — males 3,427, females 3,363, total 6,790; number pu- 
pils enrolled — males 2,960, females 2,586, total 5,546; average daily attendance — 
males 1,825, females 1,816, total 3,641; number teachers employed — males 57, females 
80, total 137; average paid teachers per month — males $53.50, females $35.75, gen- 
eral average $44.62i; average length of term, 7i months. 

Several school-district libraries have been started, which are yearly growing in 
numbers and value. 

Too much cannot be said in praise of our district schools. Some of the teachers 
hold State certificates, and most of them seem fully alive to the importance of the 
work there is to do. It is therefore without vanity that we trust Cloud county, with 
here excellent corps of teachers, with her "schoolhouse on every hilltop and no sa- 
loon in the valley," may "act well her part" in the great work of helping Kansas 
'" to the stars through difficulty." 

Much of this history is credited to Miss Ida Wilcox, a daughter of the first teacher 
in the county, and who is now herself a Cloud county teacher. Thanks are also due 
Mr. Stackhouse, for his interesting reminiscences and statistics. 



110 History of Education in Kansas. 



COFFEY COUNTY.* 

The first schools in this county were supported by subscription. Very little 
time was allowed to elapse after the first settler's cabin was built, which was in 1854, 
until educational matters were attended to. In 1857, three schools were in session. 
In Hampden, Miss Emily Ela, a graduate of the famous Mt. Holyoke Seminary, was 
the instructor; in Ottunwa, A. L. Storms wielded the rod; and in Le Roy, a young 
man by the name of Stacey nursed the tender buds of genius. To which of the 
three the honor of precedence in the time of opening school is due, history does not 
say. Several of our pioneer teachers were graduates of colleges and universities of 
high rank, though their positions were not very lucrative, as may be seen below. 

The claim in the schools of the county which Miss Ela preempted for her sex has 
been ably held, so that, in this year of our Lord 1892, four-sevenths of those teach- 
ing are ladies. The right of the women to a freehold in educational matters was 
further defended by Miss Mary P. Wright, of this county, who was the first lady 
elected in the State to the office of county superintendent. This occurred in 1874. 
Her election was contested by her opponent, on the ground of ineligibility by rea- 
son of sex. The contest was finally decided in her favor by the Supreme Court, but 
as her term had nearly expired before the decision was made, she did not assume 
the duties of the office. 

Districts were organized and taxes levied soon after Kansas became a State. 
The records of those early schools are far from complete. The oldest reports from 
district clerks now extant are dated 1862. These indicate the number of districts 
to have been 18; school population, 800; average term of school, three months; av- 
erage salary, $11.35 per month. 

The reports for 1892 make the following showing: Number districts, entire, 93; 
>er districts, joint, 11; school population, 5,708; enrolled in school, 4,752; aver- 
age attendance, 2,926; value of school property, $100,000; bonded debt of school 
districts, $36,250; number male teachers, 45; average salary, $44.91; number female 
teachers, 79; average salary, $33.42; average term of school, weeks, 28i; paid out 
during year for school purposes, $50,000. 

The tax for school purposes is fully 40 per cent, of all taxes levied. There are 
four graded schools m the county having high-school departments. 

A normal institute of four weeks' duration has been held each year since 1877; 
these institutes are kept at a high standard by securing the best talent for instruct- 
ors, and by the active interest of the teachers and pupils of the county. The effect 
of these institutes is shown in the superior efficiency of the teachers, and in the 
large number who are led thereby to seek a liberal education in the higher institu- 
tions of learning. 

At an early day the Methodist Episcopal Church began the erection of a building 
for a college at Ottumwa, but, owing to a change of plans, it was turned over to the 
Christian Church, by whom the structure was completed. It was opened in 1863, 
under the name of the Western Christian University, with a collegiate course of 
study and an attendance of 130 students. This institution gained a high reputation 
for efficiency and thoroughness under the administration of Rev. J. M. Rankin. The 
building was destroyed by fire in 1871, and the university has ceased to exist. 

List of county superintendents, with date of election: H. H. Johnson, 1860; 
Lewis W. Morey, 1861-'62; John M. Rankin, 1864; B. Wheat, 1866; William Crow, 
1868; J. S. Kline, 1870; George N. McConnell, 1872; Mary P. Wright, 1874 (did not 
serve); John M. Rankin, 1875; P. K. Wadhams, 1876; Joshua Robinson, 1878; J. C. 



\ Th 

numb( 



*By Geo. Schenck, county superintendent. 



Cowley County. Ill 

Gray, 1880-'82; Mary C. Williams, 1884; J. B. Manley, 1886; W. R. Cone, 1888; Geo. 
Schenck, 1890. 

H. H. Johnson received for his year's salary county orders for $100, worth about 
$40; L. W. Morey, for his three years' services, received $150 in orders, worth $60; 
the present salary is $1,200 per year. 

Nearly all the schoolhouses in the county are comfortable, commodious build- 
ings, with good furniture, and most of them fairly supplied with apparatus. A great 
variety of text-books is used. Only a small part of the pJupils live over two miles 
from school. No children of sound mind grow up without learning to read and 
write. No other tax is so cheerfully paid as the school tax, and no other investment 
of money gives such general satisfaction as does that used in maintaining the free 
schools. 



COWLEY COUNTY.* 



The winter of 1869-70 witnessed the first white settlement of Cowley county. 
Steps were at once taken for the organization of schools. Governor Harvey organ- 
ized the county in 1870. In November of the same year, L. B. Waumsey was elected 
county superintendent, and the following winter he died. E. P. Hickok was ap- 
pointed to fill the vacancy. The spring following, district No. 1, including Winfield, 
and district No. 2, including Arkansas City, were organized. In 1871, 37 districts 
were organized, the school population being 659; enrollment, 122; average daily at- 
tendance, 70, for the whole county. 

The schools were taught in such houses as could be secured; even at later dates 
unoccupied claim houses were utilized as "temples of learning." A description of 
one might be taken as a type of the majority. The first school in Rock township 
was taught in the claim house of Mr. Frank Akers, on the south side of section 28, 
being 12 x 14 feet, built of green hackberry, with roof and floor of the same. As the 
boards seasoned, the cracks between thorn opened to an inch and a half. The roof was 
not waterproof, and the strips caused the rays of the sun to reflect upon the heads of 
the sweltering urchins within. The building boasted no windows — the cracks serv- 
ing that purpose. The doors were not hinged to the building; but at night, or when 
storms approached, they were held in place over the apertures by a prop. The fur- 
niture was in harmony with the building. Blocks, sawed to the length of stovewood 
and placed upon end at proper intervals, supported planks fresh from the sawmill. 
Such were the seats. The teacher sat upon one of the blocks, making up his record 
of the day with his register on his knee. Be it said to the credit of the early set- 
tlers, that this little room accommodated 42 pupils; and so earnest was the spirit of 
improvement that absence and tardiness were hardly known. 

In 1872, there were 77 organized districts and 16 schoolhouses, many neatly built 
and well furnished; in 1875, there were 108 districts, with 58 schoolhouses; in 1880, 
125 districts, with 108 schoolhouses; in 1890, 150 districts and 150 schoolhouses, 
having 175 rooms, with belongings, all valued at $126,450, employing 191 teachers, 
enrolling 6,590 scholars, expending for the support of schools, $70,000. This is ex- 
clusive of the two cities of the second class. 

In 1872, Thos. A. Wilkinson was elected to succeed Mr. Hickok. R. C. Story was 
elected county superintendent in 1874; A. H. Limerick, in 1882; Ella S. Kelley, in 
1886; Julia L. Caton, in 1888; and Lida S. Brady, in 1890. In each instance the 
superintendents have been selected from the first teachers of the county, and have 
taken into the office a broad experience, that has made the administration of the 

*By A. H. Limerick. 



112 History of Education in Kansas. 

affairs of the office a potent force in the upbuilding of our educational system, and 
has given to Cowley an enviable place among her sister counties. 

The first normal institute was held at Winfield in August, 1877, the first year 
under the law providing for the same. While the holding of institutes was an 
experiment, 76 of the 148 teachers in the county enrolled at the first session. It was 
conducted by L. B. Kellogg, with G. W. Robinson, Ella Wickersham and George H. 
Buckman as instructors. Cowley county has held its regular annual institute since 
this initial meeting. John H. Holbrook conducted the session of 1878; William 
Wheeler, 1879; R. C. Story, 1880; P. J. Williams, 1881; J. W. Cooper, 1882; B. T. 
Davis, 1883, '84, '89; J. N. Wilkinson, 1885; L. M. Knowles, 1886; J. E. Earp, 1887; 
John Buchanan, 1888, '91, '92; and Julia L. Caton, in 1890. The sessions have usu- 
ally been well attended, about 200 enrolling. In 1888, the enrollment reached 251. 
All the sessions have been held in Winfield, except the one of 1891, which was held 
in the new high-school building in Arkansas City, it being the first meeting held in 
the building. 

Arkansas City Schools — In 1871, on the picturesque peninsula between the 
Walnut and Arkansas rivers, was founded the town now known as Arkansas City; 
and scarcely were the streets defined and locations determined, when the attention 
of the intelligent and energetic home makers was turned to providing means of in- 
struction for the children that were to inhabit the new city. 

To Miss Lizzie Swartz (late Mrs. C. R. Mitchell) belongs the distinction of pre- 
siding over the first school in this section, in her log claim house in that part of the 
city now known as "Swartz addition." Miss Swartz gathered about her the children 
of "Creswell," as it was then called, and began the making of educational history 
for a new city. 

In June, 1871, school district No. 2 was organized, and steps were at once taken 
for the erection of a schoolhouse, at a cost of $400. A wooden structure of one 
room was erected on the west side of South Summit street, which was, indeed, quite 
a neat affair for its time. Here Thos. A. Wilkinson, since county superintendent of 
schools, began the winter term of 1871-'72. During the summer of 1872, Miss Col- 
lins taught the village school in the old wooden building, but since that term the 
school has been too large to be managed by one teacher. Since 1872, the principals 
or superintendents have been: E. W. Hulse, H. M. Bacon, E. R. Thompson, J. H. 
Sylvester, Orlin Phelps, C. Y. Atkinson, J. C. Weir, D. R. Boyd, and C. P. Hender- 
shot. During the first years of the settlement, comparatively few children were 
among the settlers, as many who came to the frontier were young men in search of 
homes. In 1878, there were but 207 children of school age in the district, but 143 of 
these were enrolled in the schools, and the average daily attendance was but 73; but, 
in the decade that followed, the comparison gives some index to the rapid strides a 
Western city makes in growth. In 1888, the school population was 2,271, the enroll- 
ment 1.464, and the average daily attendance 1,341. In 1890, there were 2,528 chil- 
dren of school age, the enrollment was 1,848, with an average daily attendance of 
1,231; while 1892 shows the school population to be 2,800, and the enrollment to be 
2.100. 

No improvements in building were made until 1874, when the first-ward building 
was erected, at a cost of $10,000. While we now remember this old first-ward build- 
ing with a sort of condescension, it is with no little pride that we observe that, in 
those days of more humble conditions, it was so distinguished a landmark of our 
State's advancement that a full-page cut of it embellishes the report of the State 
Superintendent for 1878. 

In 1885, the old building, with its two primary rooms on the same site, with the 
xise also of the basement of the large building, was inadequate to accommodate the 



Cowley County. 113 

Tapidly-increasing population, and the fourth-ward building was erected, at a cost 
of $10,000. This, as soon as finished, was crowded to overflowing, and, during the 
next year, the second-ward building was erected, costing, with the grounds, nearly 
$9,000. In 1887, the third-ward building was erected, and the stone building in the 
fourth ward enlarged, the two costing $25,000. In 1888, the old first-ward building 
was enlarged and improved, heating and ventilation being supplied by the "Smead 
system," with dry closets. 

In 1890, the new high-school building was erected, at a cost, with its environ- 
ments, of $38,000. In point of architectural design, taste, and neatness of finish, it 
is amongst the best in Kansas. Its elegant chapel is seated with 600 opera chairs; 
its blackboards are of superior stone slate; its recitation and study rooms accommo- 
date 450 pupils. In the spacious hall way is a fountain of bright, pure water, about 
which is a choice collection of plants. In the basement is a roomy laboratory, with 
modern conveniences for heat and water. The offices of the board of education and 
superintendent are finished in hard wood and marble, furnished with upholstered 
furniture, and neatly carpeted with Brussels carpet. It is heated throughout with 
the "Smead system," and is supplied with a fine library and the most-approved ap- 
paratus. " 

It has always been the good fortune of Arkansas City to have an efficient school 
T^oard. While it was only a school district, the men who managed its affairs were 
fully alive to the demands of the time, and since the organization of the board of 
education, nothing has been neglected or overlooked that meant for the improve- 
ment of the schools. During these years, many of our busiest citizens have taken 
places on the board, and given cheerfully of their valuable time, with no hope of 
reward save that of seeing the educational interests of the community well adminis- 
tered. During the time of active building, the president of the board, Maj. L. E. 
Woodin, and the clerk, Mr. A. Wilson, gave much time and personal attention to 
the erection and improvement of buildings. The present officers, H. T. Roberts, 
president, Mr. James Benedict, clerk, are enthusiastic schoolmen, and are leaving 
nothing undone to secure the best results for the annual expenditure of nearly $30,000. 
There are, at present, 33 rooms, employing 35 teachers, beside the superintendent. 
The school year has usually been nine months, of four weeks each. 

These elegant surroundings are in striking contrast with the humble conditions 
of 20 years ago, and the pittance paid to Miss Swartz for her services bears a curious 
ratio to the $24,000 paid to teachers in the year ending August 1, 1890. Yet these 
startling developments of a score of years portend the colossal future of our new 
Southwest. 

Winfield Schools. — Hardly had the echoes of the axe of the first settler of 
1869 died away, when the public-spirited citizens of Winfield, with that unity of pur- 
pose which was a marked characteristic of the early residents, set about establishing 
a school, where their children might enjoy the facilities for an education. A struc- 
ture 20x30 feet and 20 feet in height, consisting of two stories, was erected by the 
citizens from logs cut from the trees growing along the Walnut river. This building 
served a variety of purposes. At times the hewn logs reverberated to the eloquence 
of aspiring young attorneys, who had delved deep into the mysteries of Blackstone. 
Again, some adventurous young man, who had wearied of the humdrum of some 
quiet village farther east, and longed for the more exciting life of the frontier, con- 
densed his collegiate lore into flowery language, hoping thereby to replenish his not 
over-corpulent purse, by delivering to the mentally-hungry Westerner a "scientific" 
lecture. In the same room, on Sunday, all of the town might be seen listening to 
the earnest prayer and exhortation of some divine, whose only thought was to lead 
io a higher and better life those who sat under his ministry. 
—8 



114 History of Education in Kansas. 

This building was located on the present site of Manning's opera house. It was af- 
terward removed to the ground where the Telegram office now stands, and was reduced 
to ashes a few years since. The upper room of this building was used for a private 
school during the summer of 1870, being presided over by Miss Anna Marks, later 
one of the leading teachers of the county. Her work was marked by earnestness 
and thoroughness. Rev. Mr. Parmelee, of the Congregational Church, followed Miss 
Marks, teaching during the week and preaching on Sunday. In the spring of 1872, 
bonds were voted, by which the people of Winfield were enabled to take steps toward 
the erection of a substantial stone edifice 36x36 feet, at a cost of $10,000, and con- 
sisting of two commodious rooms, which, however, did not meet the demands of the 
rapidly-growing population. Later, the long, low building, familiarly known as the 
"barracks," was built for the accommodation of the children of the primary grades. 
The basement of the Presbyterian Church was also used for school purposes. 

When the place was chosen on which to build the schoolhouse, many protested 
against its location, as it was considered too far "out upon the prairie," most of the 
residences being then west of Main street. Notwithstanding these objections, the 
leaders, with keen foresight, saw a bright future for the city, and proceeded to erect 
on the chosen site the building which constitutes the north wing of the handsome 
structure, which is now the Central building. Rev. E. P. Hickok was employed as 
principal during the fall and winter of 1871-'72, and continued to fill the place very 
efficiently until his resignation in 1875. A. B. Lemmon, afterward State Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction, succeeded him. W. C. Robinson taught in 1876-'77. 
G. W. Robinson taught" in 1878-79, at which time there were 510 children of school 
age, 385 enrolled, and an average attendance of 230. By reference to census reports 
in 1887, we find that there were 1,693 pupils of school age, 1,311 enrolled, and an aver- 
age daily attendance of 884. E. T. Trimble became principal in 1880, remaining 
until 1884. Ansel Gridley, jr., was his successor, who remained until his removal to 
Harper. J. H. Hays followed him, remaining until 1891. The present principal, J. 
W. Spindler, began work in the fall of 1891. The remarkable growth of the schools 
for the last 20 years can be better understood by comparing the number of pupils 
of the earlier and later dates. In 1870, the pupils numbered less than two score, with 
an attendance of 30. In 1892, the total enrollment was 1,390, with an average at- 
tendance of 984. 

The fine stone structure in the first ward is known as the Central school building, 
and, with the grounds, occupies a block. The latter are covered with a beautiful 
greensward, and are ornamented with a variety of trees. While no useless expendi- 
ture of public funds is made, the school board has shown a desire to make the build- 
ing and grounds attractive, and, at the same time, keep within reasonable limits as 
regards the use of money. The results are, that the citizens feel a pardonable pride in 
pointing out this lovely spot to visitors in the city; the total cost, with grounds and 
buildings, amounting to $25,000. In the remaining wards, the expenditure has been 
sufficient to make the entire school property of the city worth over $60,000. The 
high-school room is located in the Central building, and has a seating capacity of 
120. At present, the enrollment is 91. There are 14 rooms in the Central building, 
10 in the other wards, making, in all, 24 rooms, employing 27 teachers. The Central 
building is provided with a well-equipped library of 400 volumes, carefully selected 
to meet the needs of high-school students. Three years since, the school board very 
wisely decided to appropriate money from the tuition of nonresident pupils for re- 
plenishing the library and purchasing philosophical and chemical apparatus. Be- 
sides these appliances, may be mentioned globes, maps, and models for drawing. 
The plan adopted by Supt. J. W. Spindler for the advancement of teachers is that 
of holding meetings the last Saturday of each month. A course of study for teachers 



Crawford County. 115 

having been previously assigned and several teachers chosen to prepare papers on 
the subjects studied, discussions follow, and, if time permits, suggestions are made 
relative to the regular school work. As often as once a week, or, when occasion de- 
mands, he calls his primary teachers together, to talk freely of the little annoyances 
which naturally arise in the work, of the best methods of instruction, of discipline, 
and, in short, of the variety of subjects which pertain to practical school work. 

Southwest Kansas College. — At its March session, 1885, the Southwest Kan- 
sas Conference determined to locate a college somewhere upon its field, and ap- 
pointed a board of trustees and a committee on location, and announced its 
readiness to receive proposals from towns desiring the location. Winfield at once 
became an active competitor for the location, and on the proposition that 40 acres 
of land should be given for the site, $60,000 for the erection of a building, and an 
annuity of $2,000 for two years, for the support of faculty, Winfield was chosen. In 
the summer of 1886, the foundations of the main building were laid, and plans were 
made for the opening of the school. Rev. John E. Earp, D. D., of Indiana, was 
elected president of the institution, and the first term opened in September, in the 
rooms now occupied by the Winfield Tribune. The attendance was far beyond the 
expectation of the trustees, and was quite phenomenal for a new institution. The 
next winter and spring the main building was completed and furnished. Near the 
college is a commodious three-story dormitory for ladies, and in a nice grove adjoin- 
ing the campus is the president's residence, a comfortable home. 

In 1890, Rev. M. E. Phillips, D. D., was elected to succeed Doctor Earp, and in 
the two years that he has been in charge of the school, the growth in attendance has 
been all that could be desired, the net enrollment for 1891-'92 being 513. There are 
13 teachers employed, and, for an institution of so recent a date, it takes high rank, 
there being a steady increase of students, and its moral and religious, as well as 
educational influence, is becoming a strong factor among those daily associated 
with it, and in its immediate community. 



CRAWF0KD COUNTY. 



No history of this county was prepared by the proper officer. The history 
of the schools of Pittsburg, one of its largest cities, was written by Supt. C. 
M. Light. 

Pittsburg 1 Public Schools.— Crawford county, Kansas, in which the city of 
Pittsburg is located, was organized on the 15th day of April, 1867, but not until the 
winter of 1876-'77 was the town of Pittsburg laid out and platted. The building of 
the Gftrard & Joplin railroad |since become a branch of the "Frisco") was the im- 
mediate cause of the laying out of the town. School district No. 49, which now 
comprises the city of Pittsburg and vicinity, was organized in the early days of 
January, 1877, being the last official act of A. J. Georgia, the retiring county super- 
intendent of public instruction. 

During the summer of 1877, the first school building was erected in the town, at 
a cost of $1,200. It was a wooden structure, two stories high, 28 feet by 40 feet, and 
is now known as the Fifth Street building. In 1884, an eight-room brick building 
was erected, but was sold and torn down in 1888, and a beautiful 12-room building 
erected in its stead, known as the Granby building. In 1887, the high-school build- 
ing was erected, which gave the city eight additional rooms, besides the high-school 
rooms. In 1891, two four-room brick buildings were erected, so that at the present 



1 16 History of Education in Kansas. 

time the city has 32 schoolrooms, and the board of education is now planning to 
erect a central high-school building on the site of the old wooden Fifth Street build- 
ing. Each building is well equipped with all the modern school appliances and il- 
lustrative apparatus. 

The first term of school, of eight months, upon the organization of the district, 
was taught by Mr. A. J. Georgia, who had an average attendance of 26. The second 
term of school was taught by Thomas Van Anda, who was followed by D. Hollinger, 
two years; C. E. Cory, two years; A. M. Bogle and Clara Cunningham, one year; and 
Howard Gates, one year. On the completion of the eight-room brick building, in 
1884, S. W. Black was elected principal, and served three years. During the last 
year of Mr. Black's administration, the city was incorporated as a city of the second 
class, and he became its first city superintendent. In the year 1887, Mr. D. E. Pence 
was elected to the position of city superintendent, and served three years, when he 
was superseded by Mr. C. M. Light, who is now serving his second year. 

From the date of the organization of the city, in the year 1880, when there was 
but one teacher required, the number of teachers has been increased to 32, the 
present number now employed. Nine of our teachers are graduates of normal 
schools, and five others have taken special work to prepare themselves for their 
chosen class of work. For the special and general improvement of the teachers, 
two classes of teachers' meetings are held. Grade meeting are held every two weeks, 
for the purpose of comparing work and discussing the best methods of presenting 
each topic. General meetings are held once a month, at which the following pro- 
gram is carried out: Current events; recitation upon an educational classic which 
the teachers are reading; developing lessons and class exercises; drills in special 
branches of instruction; papers upon the history of education; 20-minute lectures 
by representative men of the city, etc. 

The people of Pittsburg feel somewhat flattered at the general progress of their 
schools. Within 11 years the enrollment has increased from less than 100, to more 
than 1,800 pupils at the present time. The board of education and the superintend- 
ents have labored hard to have the schools keep pace with our rapidly-growing city. 
The construction of new buildings and the organization of new departments, the 
transitory residence of the people, and the employment of many new teachers whose 
teaching ability was untried, are some of the difficulties with which the authorities 
have contended. The present board, having taken advanced steps in educational 
matters, has in large measure overcome these difficulties. The present superintend- 
ent has had their hearty cooperation in everything that has tended to make the 
schools a success. Teachers' wages have been increased, and none but those who 
were known to possess unusual teaching and governing ability have been employed 
this year. A course of instruction and a teachers' manual have been issued, and are 
giving each teacher valuable aid along her particular line of work. 

We have good reasons to believe the best and the most scientific modernjneth- 
ods of instruction are used in the schools of Pittsburg. Thoroughness is the watch- 
word in every school. Pupils do everything understandingly, and are then drilled 
upon these acquirements until they become fixed in the mind. A few suggestions 
on reading, numbers and geography will give the reader a hint at the methods em- 
ployed: Reading is taught by the phonic and script method. In the lower grades 
but little concert reading is permitted, naturalness of expression being secured by 
the pupil's own individual effort. Pupils are not allowed to read until they thor- 
oughly master the words and understand the selection. Imitative reading is almost 
-wholly confined to the upper grades, where difficult selections are to be rendered. 
The combinations of numbers are first taught through objects; second, through the 
symbols, when they are fixed in the memory so thoroughly that the combination is 



Decatur County. 117 

recognized as quickly as the result itself; third, numbers are applied in practical 
problems, careful attention being given to the forms of expression, both in symbols 
and in good English. Geography is taught in every grade, and consists of a pri- 
mary course and a text-book course; the former consisting of field observations* 
the development of terms, and local geography; the latter being supplemented by 
information and observation lessons. Map drawing and map molding are used 
throughout the course, and every other device to help the child to form a proper 
concept of the country so studied. 

The pupils of the public schools have access to a large circulating library, and 
our buildings are well supplied with dictionaries and encyclopedias. A professional 
library, consisting of about 100 volumes, belonging to the teachers of the city, is 
maintained at the superintendent's office. 

Our course of study begins the elements of all the sciences in the primary schools, 
and completes them in an elementary way in the high school. Each oral and text- 
book exercise is carefully graded to suit the age and mental development of the 
pupils. The following branches constitute the course in the grades: Reading, writ- 
ing, numbers, geography, spelling, form and drawing, physiology, history and bio- 
graphy, language, literature, music, physical culture, morals and manners, and a 
course in general reading; The high-school courses are as follows: 

Fbeshman Yeab. — Fiest Teem. Latin Course. — Algebra, Collar & Daniel's Be 
ginner's Latin Book, two American classics. English Course. — Algebra, word anal- 
ysis, civil government, two American classics. Second Teem. Latin Course. — Alge- 
bra, Latin Book completed, physical geography, three American classics. English 
Course. — Algebra, bookkeeping, physical geography, three American classics. 

Juniob Yeab. — Fiest Teem. Latin Course. — Algebra completed; Lockwood's 
English, with classics; ancient history, with compositions based upon class work; 
Caesar, three books. English Course. — Algebra completed; Lockwood's English, with 
classics: ancient history, with compositions based upon class work; Zoology. Sec- 
ond Teem. Latin Course. — Geometry; Lockwood's English, with classics; mediaeval 
and modern history, with compositions based on class work; Caesar and Cicero. 
English Course. — Geometry; Lockwood's EDglish, with classics; mediaeval and mod- 
ern history, with compositions based on class work; botany. 

Senioe Yeae. — Fiest Teem. Latin Course.— Geometry ; Lockwood's English, 
with classics; physics; Cicero and Virgil's iEneid. English Course. — Geometry; 
Lockwood's English, with classics; physics; political economy. Second Teem. 
Latin Course. — Rhetoric and classics; physics; Virgil's iEneid. English Course. — 
Rhetoric and classics; physics; mental science. 

1. One oration is required each term during the junior and senior years. 

2. Pupils contemplating the work of the eighth grade are admitted to the 
freshman class on presenting their certificates. Applicants having prepared else- 
where may be admitted on examination, or by presenting certificates of creditable 
work from other schools. , 



DECATUR COUNTY." 



School districts Nos. 1, 2, and 8, of Decatur county, were organized August 9, 
1879, by H. D. Colvin, acting superintendent of the unorganized county. The first 
schoolhouse was built in district No. 1, which included Oberlin, afterward the county 
seat. The house was a small log building, with a dirt roof, and with benches for 

*By W. S. Langmade. 



1 1 8 History of Education in Kansas. 

seat?. The first school was taught by Mrs. Sue Kneff. At the end of the second 
term, taught by R. O. Kindig, the school having outgrown the little log building, a 
frame addition was attached, which made it large enough to accommodate 50 pu- 
pils. This building was used until 1883, when a frame building, containing three 
rooms, was erected. This was the first frame schoolhouse built in the county. In 
1887, the school having again outgrown its accommodations, a $16,000 brick build- 
ing was erected, containing eight rooms, heated by steam, and fitted up with modern 
conveniences and first-class apparatus. 

The oldest schoolhouse in the county now in use is in district No. 3. It was built 
in 1879. and was the second schoolhouse built in the county. The first school in this 
house was taught by Miss Ida Loucks, at a salary of $12 per month. 

The first county superintendent, 1879-'80, was H. D. Colvin; the second, 1880-'83, 
D. W. Burt; the third, 1883-'89, Geo. F. Hodge; the fourth, 1889-'93, T. B. Wolfe; and 
the fifth and present superintendent, Miss Emma McCleery. 

In 1892, there were in the county about 120 teachers, and 3,000 persons of school 
age. There are 106 districts, two-thirds of which have frame school buildings, the 
remainder being sod. 

The first normal institute of Decatur county was held in Oberlin, in 1880, with 
D. W. Burt as conductor, and Mrs. Sue Kneff and R. O. Kindig as instructors. Fif- 
teen teachers were in attendance. In 1892, there were four instructors employed, 
and 115 teachers in attendance. 

Oberlin has been chosen as the site for the National G. A. R. Memorial College, 
which was chartered January 21, 1891, and is to be erected in 1894. This college was 
founded by the Woman's Relief Corps of Kansas, and has received the indorsement 
of the four national patriotic organizations, the G. A. R., the W. R. C, the S. of V., 
and the L. A. S. These societies are putting forth strenuous efforts to raise the re- 
quired fund for buildings and endowment. 



DICKINSON COUNTY.* 



The county was organized in 1857. The first county seat was located at Newport, 
one mile east of Detroit; but in 1862, it was removed to Abilene. The first regular 
election of county officers was held in November, 1860. 

Samuel Ruthruff was the first person to fill the office of county superintendent of 
schools. He was elected in 1860, and served till April, 1864, when he resigned in 
favor of E. W. Bradfield, who held the office till August, 1865. Ex-Superintendent 
Ruthruff was then appointed for the unexpired term. 

The first school was organized in 1863, at Lyona. Matilda Smith was engaged 
to teach the school, at a salary of twelve dollars per month. For several years, 
the sessions were held in a log church, built by German settlers, and fitted out with 
plain board benches for seats. School supplies were scarce. Books and slates came 
from Leavenworth, by ox team. The alphabet was mastered first; then primary 
reading and number work. The children were robust and healthy. Corn bread and 
buffalo meat was their principal diet. Although numerous Indian tribes wandered 
over the county on hunting expeditions, yet, fortunately, no pupil was molested on 
his way to school. 

In November, 1865, William Frost was elected superintendent, and served two 
years. His successor was William Ramsey, who opened an office at the county seat, 
and vigorously pushed the work of organization. A school-district map of the 

* By A. C. Van Dyke, ex-county superintendent. 




DICKINSON COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS 

1865. 



1. Samuel Ruthruff, 1860 -'6 

2. E. W. Bradfield, 1864. 

3. William Frost, 1866 -'67. 

4. William Ramsey, 1868-'69. 

5. Cyrus Kilgore, 1870. 

6. D. R. Emery, 1871 -'73. 



7. D. W. Wilson, 1874. 

8. A. M. Crary, 1875 -'82. 

9. D. D. Hornaday, 1883 -'86. 

10. J. S. Ford, 1887-'90. 

11. A. C. Vandyke, 1891 -'92. 

12. D. F. Shirk, 1893. 



Dickinson County. 119 

county was provided, and at the expiration of his term of two years the number of 
schools had increased from three to 22. Most districts owned comfortable stone or 
wooden buildings, fairly well supplied with furniture and apparatus. 

Cyrus Kilgore, the sixth superintendent, was elected in November, 1869, and 
served till the next regular election, in 1870, when D. R. Emery was chosen, and 
continued in office till March, 1874, the "grasshopper year." D. W. Wilson, of Solo- 
mon City, completed the term by appointment. 

A. M. Crary was elected in 1874, and held the office for eight years. During that 
time large colonies from the Eastern States settled in the county. The organized 
schools had increased from 75 to 112, including joint districts with Geary, Clay, Sa- 
line and Marion counties. The school population had increased to 5,800, and 4,900 
of this number were enrolled in the schools. The estimated value of school prop- 
erty was $108,000. The average school term was six months. Monthly salary for 
male teachers, $37; females, $34. 

From 1882 to 1887, the schools were ably looked after by D. D. Hornaday, a prac- 
tical enthusiast in the cause of common-school education. He completed the work 
of organization, leaving the whole number of districts at 125. 

J. S. Ford occupied the office from January, 1887, to January, 1891. He gave 
much attention to local and county associations formed to benefit teachers and pa- 
trons. A course of study was published, to secure system in classification and gradu- 
ation of pupils in country schools. 

A. C. Van Dyke succeeded Superintendent Ford, and served two years. Some 
marked features of his administration were the appointment of associate exami- 
ners not connected with higher schools of learning, labeling applicants' manu- 
scripts in examination by number instead of by name, establishing local reading 
circles, publishing reports of school visits through the local press, and increasing 
the salaries of teachers by raising the standard for third-grade certificates. 

Mr. D. F. Shirk was elected superintendent in November, 1892, and at this date, 
January 15, 1893, is actively engaged in the discharge of his official duties. 

Each district now owns a comfortable frame, brick or stone building, fitted out 
with patent desks, and provided with excellent slate, canvas, hyloplate or native 
stucco-plaster blackboards. Wall maps, charts, globes, blocks and teachers' regis- 
ters are seen in every schoolroom. Facilities for heating and ventilating receive 
much attention. During the year 1892, six new schoolhouses, costing $1,000 each, 
were built in country districts. The city of Herington, a raiiroad center in the 
southeast part of the county, owns a magnificent brick edifice, valued at $16,000. 
Solomon City, on the line of three railways, has also a fine brick structure, costing 
$8,000. Each of these employs seven teachers, at very good salaries. The thriving 
town of Hope, at the Missouri Pacific and Santa Fe crossing, has completed a 
neat frame building, at a cost of $6,000. Chapman, a growing town on the Union 
Pacific railroad, expended $5,000 in a schoolhouse built of native limestone. Each 
of these towns sustains four schools. The public school property of Enterprise is 
valued at $12,000. The new brick addition gives ample capacity for sustaining six 
schools. 

Good two-story buildings for schools are erected at Banner City, Woodbine, Carl- 
ton, Detroit, Dillon, and Manchester. 

A love for good literature is much cultivated in town and city schools, by means 
of public libraries and reading tables. There is a growing sentiment in favor of 
extending these advantages to country schools. Already several districts have pur- 
chased small libraries by public tax. 

A system of gradation and graduation for district schools is now generally well 
established. Classification registers are being introduced, and all pupils who com- 



120 Histowj of Education in Kansas. 

plete the adopted course of study and pass a creditable examination in the common- 
school branches of the State are given certificates of admission to the county high 
school, issued by the county superintendent of schools. This plan secures longer 
and more regular attendance of pupils in district schools. 

In the spring of 1892, the class of graduates numbered 71. 

A lively interest is taken in district and county associations by teachers and pa- 
trons. The county is divided at present into two institute districts, each governed 
by a constitution and by-laws, and managed entirely by the individual membership- 
Each district association holds six sessions each year, and the county association 
three. School methods, general history drills and the study of pedagogy proper are 
some of the subjects for general discussions. 

The entire county is organized into 125 districts, giving excellent school privi- 
leges to all children; very few, comparatively, are compelled to go over two mi]es 
to attend school. 

Invariably, each district holds but one term of school, the winter term. The 
average length of school term is 27 weeks. In all, 150 teachers are employed in the 
district schools. Male teachers, in 1892, received an average salary of $47.90 per 
month; females, $39.90; salary of county superintendent, $1,200 per annum. The 
average age of teachers is 22 years. The school population, excluding Abilene, is 
6,600; enrollment, 5,300; average daily attendance, 3,400. 

From a levy of 12j mills on the dollar, together with the State endowment fund,, 
over $61,000 were expended in the districts in 1892 for school purposes, making the 
cost of schooling for ea"ch pupil $3.58 per capita on each inhabitant. The value of 
the school property belonging to the districts in 1892 was estimated at $140,000 r 
upon which rests a bonded indebtedness of $62,000. However, these bonds are gen- 
erally cashed when due. 

Practical educators are engaged four weeks each summer, at good salaries, to 
conduct a normal institute at the county seat, to train persons especially for the 
profession of teaching. About 140 teachers and others enroll each year. It is made 
almost self-sustaining by enrollment and teachers' examination fees. 

The courthouse, at Abilene, was destroyed by fire on the morning of the 18th day 
of January, 1882, and all records of the county superintendent's office were burned 
except the school-district map. Hence, a considerable part of this history was ob- 
tained from reliable correspondence. 

Abilene City Schools. — Prominently associated with the early history of Abi- 
lene public schools were ex-Probate Judge R. N. Smith and A. V. Jewett, attorney, 
who still reside at Abilene. The former was principal in 1872-'73, just at the close 
of the "Texas cattle trade." A low stone building, in which one of the two schools 
was held, is still standing on the south side. The general character of the school 
was bad, but the stern and vigilant "master" soon commanded a respectful obedi- 
ence to law and order. 

In 1885 came A. V. Jewett, who remained at the head of the schools for 14 years — 
four years after Abilene was declared a city of the second class. During this period 
wonderful growth is accredited the school enumeration, necessitating schoolroom 
extension and frequent changes in the course of study. Mr. Jewett proved an able 
organizer as well as a good disciplinarian. The closing years of his labors were re- 
warded with a salary of $1,500, the most ever paid for the same kind of work in the 
city's history. More recently the frequent change in superintendency was due mainly 
to factional strifes, which, happily, is now vanishing. Since June, 1889, the follow- 
ing persons have occupied a place at the head of these schools: W. D. Moulton, two 
years; W. W. Reed, one year; and J. C. Gray, the present incumbent. 

The school property includes two substantial brick structures, each three stories 



Dickinson County. 121 

high, and two other one-story frames — in all a capacity of 16 rooms. A portion of 
the city hall is used for high-school purposes, also. The brick buildings are heated 
with steam and hot air. Floor ventilators are in use, and patent inside shutters are 
attached to windows to shield pupils from excessive sunlight. The grounds are the 
pride of the city. The entire valuation, including furniture and apparatus, is esti- 
mated at $75,000, upon which rest unpaid bonds to the amount of $14,000. The li- 
brary contains 1,500 volumes, and the reading table is generously supplied with the 
best periodicals. Nineteen teachers are engaged, at an annual outlay of $9,000. A 
levy of 15 mills on the dollar is maintained, to pay all expenses and liquidate ma- 
turing bonds. 

The records for 1892 show an enrollment of 885, with a daily attendance of 755. 
About 30 colored children attend the lower grades. The course of study embraces 
eight grades and four-years work in the high-school department. The high-school 
studies include algebra, geometry, trigonometry, geology, astronomy, ancient his- 
tory, United States constitution, political economy, physics, rhetoric, Latin, and 
Greek. 

Mt. St. Joseph's Academy. — In the north suburbs of Abilene, and rising 
gently above the surrounding country, is a beautiful knoll of prairie. Here is 
built the largest institution of learning in the county, known as Mt. St. Joseph's 
Academy. The structure is four stories high, made of brick, with stone basement 
and trimmings. It is 120 feet long and 40 feet wide, and cost $40,000. It is practi- 
cally free from any incumbrance. 

It is designed especially for a school for girls, and as a training department for 
those who take the vow of sisterhood to the order. The Sisters are self-sacrificing 
in their duties, and many of them are sent out over the State to take charge of 
parochial schools. The proceeds derived from this source, along with the scholar- 
ship tuition fees, make the institution self-sustaining. While the parochial schools 
are fruitful nurseries to the academy, giving it the character of a sectarian school, 
yet children of Protestant parents are freely admitted. ^ 

Precautionary measures are used to broaden the character of those who attend, 
and to fit them for a successful life. Besides elementary work, instruction in music, 
painting, needlework, shorthand and typewriting is given. 

The culinary and sleeping apartments are so attractive in themselves as to make 
the institution homelike. 

The reputation gained by this institution at home and abroad is largely due to 
the efforts of Mother Bernard, who took charge of its affairs from the beginning, 
in 1887. 

German Schools. — In connection with the German Lutheran Church organiza- 
tions on Lyon creek, there are two schools maintained from four to six months each 
year for the especial purpose of giving rudimentary instruction in German. One is 
located in Union township, the other in Lyon. Plain but neat rooms are fitted for 
comfort and convenience. The acting pastors do the teaching. 

Central College.* — Central College Association was organized at Lecompton, 
Kas., July 8, 1891. The corporation formed the board of trustees, as follows: Rev. C. 
M. McKee. Rev. H. E. Rice, Prof. H. M. Ambrose, A. M., Rev. E. B. Slade, Rev. J. A. 
Weller, Ph. D., D. D., Rev. M. R. Myer, M. S., Rev. G. H. Hinton, Rev. S. W. Foulk, Rev. 
J. Morrison, Rev. S. R. Thorn, and Rev. W. S. Blackburn. The same trustees remain 
in office, except that Professor Ambrose resigned in June, 1892, and Rev. M. Jennings 

* The following press dispatch, dated Dayton, Ohio, occurs in the daily papers, May 9, 1893 : "Cen 
tral College, of Enterprise, Kas., was to-day repudiated as a United Brethren Church school, by being 
stricken from the quadrennial report of their board of education." 



122 History of Education in Kansas. 

was elected to fill the vacancy. This board of trustees has the full control of the in- 
stitution. In the absence of the board, the affairs of the association are managed 
by an executive committee, which is limited only by the by-laws and the general 
direction of the board of trustees. 

After the board of trustees was organized, an executive committee, consisting of 
Pres. J. A. Weller, Revs. S. W. Foulk, E. B. Slade, C. M. McKee, and M. R. Myer, was 
directed to go to Enterprise, Dickinson county, Kansas, and accept the college build- 
ing and grounds from the Harrison Normal College Association, of Enterprise. This 
was accomplished on July 10, 1891, and arrangements were made to open the college 
on September 1, 1891. 

The trustees are members of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, and 
are responsible to the conference of which they are members for their moral and 
official actions. Thus the United Brethren Church has the moral control of the in- 
stitution; besides, the founding of the institution is officially approved by three out 
of four of the conferences of the State. 

The college building is a beautiful and substantial structure, 65x70 feet, three 
stories, 15 rooms, built of gray limestone. The architecture is modern, and the 
rooms and halls are finished in hard pine and oak, with oil finish. Other buildings 
are soon to be erected. The boarding halls are owned by private parties. The col- 
lege building and the block upon which it stands cost $20,000. There are 500 lots, 
worth at least $50,000, belonging to the college, in addition to the college block. 
The location is a beautiful one, giving a splendid view of the surrounding country. 

The object of the college is the pursuit of college studies under the influence of 
church and Christian teachers. Revivals of religion are encouraged. The Y. M. C. A. 
and Y. W. C. A. give a religious tone to the college. 

A choice of courses of study, as well as many elective studies, are offered to stu- 
dents. The courses afforded are classical, scientific, literary, commercial, normal, 
preparatory, instrumental and vocal music, fine art, shorthand and typewriting. 
The college year is divided into four terms of 10 weeks each. The tuition, $8 for 
college studies or shorthand and typewriting, and $10 for commercial studies and 
instrumental music. 

There are 10 professors and teachers employed. The faculty at the present time 
are J. A. Weller, D. D., Ph. D., president, and professor of philosophy and pedagogy; 
Emma H. Weller, A.M., professor of Latin and Greek languages; T. D. Crites, B. S., 
professor of natural science; L. D. Arnold, B. S., professor of mathematics; D. L. 
Hoatson, M. Accts., professor of commerce; Rev. G. G. Grassmucck, A. M., instructor 
of German language; Jno. Van Wordragen, dean of music; Mabel I. Poulton, assist- 
ant in music; J. W. Ehrsam, B. S., instructor in mechanical drawing; and Mrs. R. M. 
Foster, instructor in fine art. The faculty is composed of learned and energetic men 
and women in the prime of life. Miss Mary Kness is an assistant teacher in the 
English language. 

The management of the college is committed to the president. The faculty has 
a regular weekly meeting, in which plans for the management and inspiration of the 
classes are matured. The general control of the college building and the manage- 
ment of the students is committed to the president by the by-laws of the institution. 
The literary societies — the Platonian for gentlemen, and Emersonian for ladies — 
are under the general direction of the faculty, their literary work being under their 
own supervision. 

The college has steadily grown, since its founding to the present. The total en- 
rollment for the first year was 147; the present enrollment, (December 1, 1892,) in 
all departments, is 185 students. 

The library, at the time of the organization of the college, had 300 volumes. In 



Doniphan County. 123 

addition to this nucleus of a library, the students have free access to 1,000 volumes 
belonging to the president and Mrs. Weller. The apparatus of the college is con- 
tinually increasing. The Ladies' College Aid Society has, by solicitation and enter- 
tainments, gathered a fund for equipping the college with apparatus. The electric 
apparatus, microscope, etc., already obtained are first class. A good beginning has 
been made in the way of gathering a museum. The selections are good, and are 
awakening a new interest in the college. A class in taxidermy is supplying the col- 
lege with some excellent specimens. 

The president, Rev. J. A. Weller, D. D., Ph. D., was born in Morgan county, Ohio, 
April 28, 1846. After his common-school training and service in the army, being a 
private in Co. K, 161st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, he settled on a farm until August » 
1871, when he entered Otterbein University, Westerville, Ohio. From this institu- 
tion he graduated in June, 1876, with the degree of A. B. In the summer of 1877, 
he graduated in the National School of Elocution and Oratory, of Philadelphia, Pa. 
In May, 1878, he graduated from Union Biblical Seminary, of Dayton, Ohio. Dur- 
ing the next two years he served as pastor of the United Brethren Church at Ma- 
rion, Ohio, where he was called as college pastor to Otterbein University, his alma 
mater. At the end of one year, he was unexpectedly called to the chair of ancient 
languages in Western College, at Toledo, Iowa. He gave life and enthusiasm to this 
department for six years, when he became president of Lane University, at Lecomp- 
ton, Kas. This college was then in a dilapidated condition. The institution had 
run so low that its note would not be taken in the bank. Notwithstanding the many 
things in the way of making a college in the town, the college grew to an enrollment 
of 330 students during the fourth year of his presidency. He solicited personally 
$25,000 for Lane University. 

Much of President Weller's success as an educator is due to his faithful wife, 
Rev. Emma Howard Weller, to whom he was married January 1, 1883, at Clear Lake, 
Iowa. She is 3| years of age, and has been a teacher for 18 years. Besides teaching 
a number of years in the common schools of Iowa, she taught painting and draw- 
ing during the five years she was a student of Western College, Toledo, Iowa. From 
her alma mater, she took successively the degrees B. S., A. B., and A. M. She filled 
the chair of Latin and English languages in Lane University, and is still professor 
of Latin and Greek languages in Central College. 

President and Mrs. Weller are noted for their energy, enthusiasm and devotion 
to the building up of the college. 

Central College, with the principle of keeping out of debt, has a bright future 
before it. An enrollment at the beginning of the second year of 185 students, rep- 
resenting 25 counties of the State of Kansas, foretells an energy and life that are 
remarkable. It is bringing an excellent citizenship to the manufacturing city of 
Enterprise, which already contains 900 inhabitants. 



DONIPHAN COUNTY.* 



Doniphan county was organized in 1855. The first county superintendent, John 
Bayless, was elected in 1859, and served four years. He organized school district 
No. 1, at Wathena, April 21, 1859. Mr. Benjamin Harding, the first teacher legally 
licensed to teach in the county, took charge of the school. Mr. Harding gives an 
account of his first certificate, as follows: "I received my certificate, the first he ever 
issued, from Mr. Bayless, in 1859. Went on horseback to Highland, ate dinner with 

*By Miss Fbances E. Katnee, county superintendent. 



124 History of Education in Kansas. 

him, when he had his daughter bring her school books, and from them he questioned 
me till he was satisfied. There was no fooling about him." A frame building had 
been erected for school purposes in 1857, and school had been maintained in it in 
pioneer style up to the time of organization. A new schoolhouse, built in 1867, and 
afterward used for the colored school, has since been torn down, and a fine brick 
structure erected in 1870, at a cost of $10,000. We must return to Mr. Bayless in 
1859. I shall ask you to go back even before his time — to 1837, when the Presby- 
terian Board of Missions planted a mission under the hands of that self-denying and 
devoted man, Rev. S. M. Irvin, among the Sacs and Iowa Indians. The lands of 
these tribes occupied what are now Doniphan and Brown counties. A number of 
grammars and text-books in the Indian language were set up and printed, the liter- 
ary and typographical work being done by Revs. Wm. Hamilton and S. M. Irvin. 

In the year 1854, a treaty was made with the Indians, removing their claims from 
this part of their lands, and the country was open for settlement. The missionaries, 
thoughtful and prayerful as to how they could best prepare for the coming popula- 
tion, decided to found a college whose corner stone should be the Bible, where a 
"pure faith and true science" would be taught. In May, 1857, a little school was 
commenced in a log cabin, (the first house built on the premises, which had been 
occupied for a time as a preemption house,) where the town of Highland now stands. 
Two ministers, two elders and a dozen pupils made up the first session of a school 
that, to the present, has never lost a school day. The next year, the log cabin was 
exchanged for a neat and comfortable frame building, and the schoolhouse became 
a Presbyterian academy. " In 1858, a liberal charter from the Territorial Legislature 
was obtained, under the title of Highland University Company. The further history 
of this institution need not be traced, although we may add that, in 1866, a large 
brick building, the one now in use, was built, at a cost of $4,000. 

The average yearly enrollment of this institution has been for some years about 
100 students, and among its graduates we find men of prominence, as- well as men of 
ability and integrity. Among the early corporate members of this institution we 
find the name of John Bayless, the first superintendent of public instruction of Don- 
iphan county. He had come to Kansas in 1855. He was public-spirited, and inter- 
ested in the development of the new State. He was an organizer, having built, with 
little assistance, one of the first churches in Broome county, New York. He organ- 
ized 21 school districts in Doniphan county, the last, 21, was attached to the district 
which includes Troy, the county seat. 

Mr. Bayless was a man of strong conviction, holding his peace for no man and 
in no presence, when principle called him to utterance. Politically, he was a Whig, 
later a Republican and Abolitionist. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1865, where he 
died in 1873. His work, s/> well begun, has kept pace with the development of the 
county. All honor to the pioneers ! to the pathfinders ! They were a sturdy, staunch 
race. They have made our present civilization possible. 

In 1863, Mr. C. C. Camp, a bright young man of ability, was placed in charge of 
the schools. He was district attorney at the time, and was appointed first, afterward 
elected, to the office of county superintendent of public instruction, with the under- 
standing that he would be expected to do as little as possible and keep the schools 
going. It was the time when men and even boys were training and hurrying to war 
to determine the question of schools or no schools; and those who were compelled 
to stay at home to carry on civil government filled as many places as possible. 

During the four years he held offices, he organized 20 school districts, making 41 
numbers; but some had lapsed. 

The courthouse burned in 1867, and all early records were destroyed. Mr. Camp 
gives some interesting reminiscences of those early days. He says: " Teachers were 



Doniphan County. 125 

so scarce that I had to be very careful not to reject any one who was sent by a school 
board for examination. One incident in this connection I well remember. A school 
district sent for examination a man whom I had long known as a wood chopper and 
teamster. I commenced his examination, with many misgivings, by asking with 
what branch he was best acquainted. He said he was something of a mathemati- 
cian, so I followed this lead. He answered readily all questions as to the primary 
rules of arithmetic, showed a perfect knowledge of fractions, explained all the intri- 
cacies of decimals, percentage, and interest; gave the rule of square root. I asked 
him to give the reason for this rule. He immediately did so, and I immediately gave 
him his certificate. 

"A large part of the original population of Doniphan county came from the 
Southern States, and many of them were opposed to being taxed to support schools. 
So many Union men were away in the army, that in one instance they voted against 
the tax and closed the schools. In this emergency they came to me. I told them to 
rally the war widows, and let them vote in place of their husbands. From that time 
forward no schools were closed for want of tax levy." 

Mr. Camp adds that he was paid from $36 to $50 per annum, and very modestly 
says he thinks they paid him very well for all the services he rendered. Humility, 
thou art a jewel! Mr. Camp afterward returned to Fredonia, N. Y., where he now 
resides, still as much interested in Doniphan county and her schools as in his nu- 
merous financial affairs. 

In 1867, Rev. Gary Hickman, a Presbyterian minister of the old style, highly 
educated, yet eccentric, was elected county superintendent. He and his pony are 
remembered by many even yet. He called the first institute ever held in the county, 
in 1867. It was held in the M. E. Church, in Wathena, and the teachers sat upon board 
benches. D. W. Brown, from Troy, Rev. T. H. Dinsmore and three or four others 
from Highland, went, and, with the Wathena teachers, formed an institute. To tell 
how it was conducted would be a puzzle now. About this time, two advanced school- 
girls, from Wathena, walked down to see Mr. Hickman, about two miles distant. 
One was to teach in the Wathena schools, if she could get a certificate. With many 
misgivings, they met him, and told their errand. He asked them some simple ques- 
tions, that a third-reader pupil could easily answer, and said: "Now, girls, if you 
will make me a real nice bow, and say, 'Thank you,' I will give you each a certificate 
for 12 months." He held the office until May, 1868, when he resigned, and Mr. D. W. 
Brown was appointed to succeed him. He was a practical schoolman, and served 
four years and four months. During this period, he devoted his entire time to the 
work. The war was over. The schools, freedom's handmaid, had been neglected 
while freedom herself was in danger. 

The educational affairs of Doniphan county, in common with those of other 
places, were in a chaotic condition. The most of the schoolhouses were little better 
than stables, and but two or them were what could be called seated. There were no 
records in the office; the county was imperfectly districted; the text-books in use 
were a mixture of everything published at the time. Mr. Brown arranged with 
Wilson, Hinckle & Co., of Cincinnati, to bring about uniformity. The company 
furnished the books gratis, exchanged new ones for old, and paid the freight both 
ways. Mr. Brown, in his buggy or on his horse, brought around the new books, and 
took away the old ones. Well do we remember one little country school and its 
pupils that were made so happy one spring day in 1869. The books were a revela- 
tion to us, and for weeks and months they were an inspiration. A number of new 
districts were organized, and the boundaries of many more changed. Many new 
schoolhouses were erected, and as many more improved, reseated, and furnished with 
appropriate apparatus. 



I2tf History of Education in Kansas. 

He held ''institutes,'' as they then called them, of one week's length, usually in 
August, each year, at Troy, Wathena, White Cloud, and Highland. In these insti- 
tutes the teachers did the best they could with what they had to do with. No funds 
were provided. The teachers acted as volunteer instructors, and were all entertained 
with true, open-hearted hospitality by the citizens of the town. They had a good 
time, exchanged methods, instructed each other, and all felt the good results. The 
examinations, usually written, and at stated times, were conducted by an examining 
board. 

Mr. Brown says he left the teachers, as a class, much improved. This, in part, 
was due to immigration. He made a complete record of the districts as he found 
them and as he left them. He made many changes. He did it without consulting 
policy or public opinion, and was frequently censured and often unjustly blamed. 
Those who know most of his work consider him one of the best schoolmen who 
have been in the county. He was a native of Vermont, and now resides near Troy. 
He resigned, on account of ill health, in September, 1872, when he was succeeded 
by D. D. Rose. 

Mr. Rose held the office six years and four months. He carried on the work left 
by his predecessor with skill, giving his entire time to it. He was a native of New 
York, and, like his predecessor, was educated in the common schools and acad- 
emies; like him, he began teaching at 19 years of age, continued in this work until 
the war, and served through the entire time as a soldier. He came to Doniphan 
county in 1866, as did Mr. D. W. Brown. 

Mr. Rose held short institutes at East Norway, Highland, Severance, and White 
Cloud; and in 1877, he held the first annual normal institute of one month, at Troy, 
in August. It was conducted by Prof. John Wherrell, assisted by J. A. Lane and 
Miss Wherrell, and enrolled over 100 teachers. 

The normal institute met with great favor. The young teacher was better pre- 
pared for his work; and to the more experienced teacher it brought new methods, a 
professional insight, and a keener relish. It afforded an opportunity for weaving a 
stronger professional bond of sympathy to unite those engaged in the work. The 
normal institute of 1878 was conducted by Prof. H. D. McCarty, assisted by J. A. 
Lane. Township associations had been organized as early as 1871. In Iowa and 
Wolf River townships they were especially successful. They met every two weeks, 
at different schoolhouses. On Friday night there would be a gathering for a lecture 
and some discussions, and on Saturday the teachers spent the day in class drills. 

Mr. Rose was succeeded in 1879 by Mr. Edward Heeney, who conducted the af- 
fairs of the office with vigor and ability. In August, 1879, the institute was con- 
ducted by Professor McCarty, assisted by O. C. Hill. This was one of the largest 
ever held in the county, having on the roll 140 names. During this session, the 
Doniphan County Teachers' Association was organized. Mr. Edward Heeney was 
chosen first president. This county teachers' association has had its seasons of 
prosperity and adversity, but has had its regular meetings each year, and has been 
a great factor in the growth of the school work. 

In 1880, Professors McCarty, Hill and B. F. Nihart conducted the institute. Mr. 
Heeney went down with his party, in 1881. He has the honor of being the only Dem- 
ocrat who has held this office in Doniphan county. He is a native of the county and 
still remains here, handling, not boys and girls, but other hardware 

Mr. H. F. Shaner, in 1881, took up the work, and zealously and skillfully managed 
it for six years. He was a Pennsylvanian by birth, but had been actively engaged 
in the school work of the county for 12 years. His energy and public spirit, which 
he had shown as a teacher, served him well in a higher capacity. The county asso- 
ciations were largely attended, the schools were carefully supervised. He encour- 



Doniphan County. 127 

aged teachers to read professional literature and organized a teachers' reading circle, 
which was moderately successful for two years. He set up a high standard before 
the teachers. 

The normal institutes conducted during the term of his office were in charge of 
the following instructors: 1881 — 0. C. Hill and B. F. Nihart; 1882 — L. M. Knowles 
and B. F. Nihart; 1883 — B. F. Nihart and 0. E. Olin; 1884 — L. M. Knowles and D. 
E. Lantz; 1885 — 0. E. Olin and William Wheeler; 1886 — 0. E. Olin and William 
Wheeler. 

The work of these six years is highly estimated. Mr. Shaner married one of the 
best teachers, and left the profession. He lives in Chicago, engaged in railroad 
work. 

He was succeeded by Oliver Edwards, another Pennsylvanian, a graduate of Leb- 
anon College, Ohio, a professional teacher, and an old soldier. During the two years 
of his term, his ability and his upright life impressed themselves upon the work and 
upon all who knew him. He died upon the eve of his reelection, in November, 1888, 
and was succeeded by A. R. Graves, by appointment. Mr. Edwards first published 
the association program for the entire year. This outlined the work ahead, and, 
in consequence, the teachers were better prepared. The plan has been followed 
since. 

Institutes were held as follows: In 1887, conducted by O. C. Hill; 1888, by 0. E. 
Olin; and 1889, by W. H. Johnson. 

Mr. Graves laid the plans for the better gradation of the country schools. This 
was taken up earnestly by the teachers, and by his successor in office, Miss Frances 
E. Katner, November 19, 1889, and proved a most helpful move. The schools were 
brought into better system, the required studies were placed in all the schools, and 
graduation from the country schools introduced. 

A reading circle was organized in 1881, with 70 members, and one in 1892, with 
50 members. Associations are generally well attended. 

Institutes were held in Troy, as follows: In 1890 — L. L. H. Austin, R. N. Pember- 
ton, Mrs. Flo. V. Menninger; 1891— Ida A. Ahlborn, R. N. Pemberton; 1892— A. P. 
Warrington, I. B. Morgan. 

The library movement seems at this time, 1893, to be the newest and most popu- 
lar wave that has come to the county educationally for a long time. It is delightful, 
and bids fair to leave in its wake libraries in all the best school districts in the 
county. 

We have briefly reviewed the school work of the county, and have done it imper- 
fectly. Much credit is due the superintendents and the institute workers, but to the 
faithful teachers must the palm be given. They have all these years worked quietly, 
earnestly, and thoughtfully. Many of them have given the best years of their lives, 
their vigor, their energy, to the building up of a great work. Their names may be 
unwritten, for you and me to heedlessly gaze upon, yet their work is written in the 
hearts of hundreds of men and women who hold their old teachers in grateful re- 
membrance. They have not had wealth, and perhaps have lost health; but we have 
risen by the sacrifices they have made. In the long, long years to come, when the 
Angel of Progress reviews the deeds of the ages, to find to whom credit is due, then, 
and not till then, will the earnest, patient, faithful teacher know the magnitude of 
the work he has done. 

The following is a summarized report of the schools of this county for the year 
ending June 30, 1892: School population between 5 and 21 years, 4,716; number of 
different pupils enrolled, 3,537; average daily attendance, 2,108; number of districts 
organized, 69; number of clerks reporting, 68; number of teachers, male 41, female 
46, total 87; average length of term, in weeks, 28; average number of mills levied 



128 History of Education in Kansas. 

for school purposes, 11.2; number of persons examined, 75; number of applicants 
rejected, 9: number of first-grade certificates granted, 13; number of second-grade 
certificates granted, 29; number of third-grade certificates granted, 19; number of 
temporary certificates granted, 5; average age of persons receiving certificates, 23.5 
years: number of teachers employed holding State certificates 2, first grade 28, second 
grade 42, third grade 15, total 87; average salary paid male teachers, $44.60; average 
salary paid female teachers, $39.15; estimated value of school property, $80,000; 
bonded indebtedness, $4,800; receipts by treasurers for school year, $40,058.86; 
amount expended for school purposes, $34,875.63 ; balance in hands of district 
treasurers, $5,183.23; amount institute fund received, $302; amount institute fund 
expended, $257.75; amount institute fund on hand, $44.25. 



DOUGLAS COUNTY.* 



Few counties, if any in the West, can point with pride to as many higher educa- 
tional institutions as can Douglas county. A shorthand institute, a business college, 
three high schools, an academy, and three universities, all in a very prosperous con- 
dition, are monuments which attest the intelligence of the citizens of this county, 
and their zeal for the cause of education. 

The school history of this county begins with its earliest settlement. Many of 
the first settlers, coming" from the New England States, believed that schools and 
churches had much to do with the development of a new State. They at once estab- 
lished private schools wherever there was a sufficient number of children to form 
classes. In 1858, they asked for a county superintendent, and Governor Medary at 
once appointed Dr. H. J. Canniff superintendent of schools for the county of Doug- 
las, Kansas Territory. During the winter of 1858-'59, Doctor Canniff organized five 
districts, the first one at Prairie City. 

The old map, which shows the plats of these districts* is a very interesting study. 
It was compiled in 1857, from "field notes," found in the surveyor general's office, 
at the Territory capital, Lecompton, Kas. Many "paper towns," which do not now 
exist, even in name, are prominent features on this territorial map. In October, 
1858, the people chose Mr. C. L. Edwards for county superintendent, but owing to 
the turbulent times, there was doubt about the legality of his election, and Mr. Ed- 
wards was not commissioned until February 7, 1859. Within three months he had 
organized 35 districts and had 30 schools in session. From this time the work was 
rapidly pushed forward. 

Mr. Edwards tells some amusing incidents relating to the examination of candi- 
dates for teachers' certificates. One day a married lady came to the office and said 
she would like to take a school, and wanted to be examined. The superintendent 
proceeded to examine her, but had not asked many questions before she realized 
that it would not be possible for her to pass. The applicant then began to express 
doubts about the propriety of her teaching, as her husband had declared that he 
would have to hire some one in her place to herd the pigs and do the chores, and that, 
possibly, she had better go back and attend to those irksome duties. The superin- 
tendent at once coincided with this very practical view of the situation, and the ex- 
amination ceased, then and there. 

Later, Supt. John S. Brown asked an applicant to add one-fourth and one-half. 
After vainly endeavoring to scratch an answer from his head, he said: "I jist guess 
that 's a little too fine fer me." 



* By J. E. Peairs, county superintendent. 



Douglas County. 129 

There was a striking contrast in the qualifications of the applicants. Some, just 
from Eastern schools, were proficient scholars, while others had not even the rudi- 
ments of an education. 

The following is a complete list of the persons who have served as superintend- 
ents in this county: Dr. H. J. Canniff, 1858; C. L. Edwards, 1859; Professor Cunning- 
ham, 1860; Rev. W. R. Davis, 1861-'63; Rev. John S. Brown, 1865; J. W. Horner, 
1867; Rev. W. A. Starrett, 1869; H. C. Speer, 1871; S. M. Gaston (resigned), 1873; 
T. S. Murray (appointed), 1874; David Shuck, 1875; F. F. Dinsmore, 1877; Sarah 
A. Brown, 1879; F. F. Dinsmore, 1881; J. C. Banta, 1883-'85; N. B. Bartlett, 1887-'89; 
J. E. Peairs, 1891-'93. 

The first superintendents were paid $3 per day for actual service. When the 
Territory became a State, they received a salary based upon the population; and 
later a fixed salary. 

Many of the schoolhouses built in early days were log, and many kinds of rooms 
were rented for school purposes; but before long the enterprising citizens began to 
erect substantial buildings, a number of which are still in fair condition. The 
greater number have been replaced by buildings that are a source of pride to the 
people, and are well adapted to the comfort and convenience of the pupils. 

Many districts are supplied with all needful apparatus, and none are absolutely 
without aids for the teacher. Several districts have taken advantage of the law 
which provides that a tax may be voted to secure a library, and now have in their 
schools from 25 to 125 well-selected books. 

There are now 84 organized districts, requiring, in all, 93 teachers. The esti- 
mated value of school property is $237,570. The total amount received for school 
purposes in 1891 was $69,550.80; total amount paid out, $62,290.50. In 1891, the 
population of school age was 7,961; the average daily attendance, 4,291. 

It has long been recognized that, for the want of system, there has been in the 
country schools a useless waste of precious time. The constant study of superin- 
tendents and teachers has been to make some change which will enable the schools 
to do more uniformly thorough work, and to give the boys and girls of the country 
an equal chance with those of the city. 

During the past 10 years, several attempts have been made to secure for the 
county a uniformity of text-books. Two years ago, a uniform series was adopted, 
and the superintendent immediately prepared a course of study for eight years' work, 
based upon the adopted books, printed several thousand copies, and distributed 
them to teachers and pupils. The effect was immediate and satisfactory. Pupils 
using uniform text-books, directed by teachers following a uniform course of 
study or manual, had an incentive to complete the work of the common schools. 
A friendly rivalry at once manifested itself in the classes of the different schools. 
The result was, that last year 54 pupils completed the required course of study and 
graduated from the common schools. The class gave its commencement exercise in 
the opera house, and the class representatives did credit to themselves and to the 
newly-inaugurated system. A number of these graduates are in the different higher 
schools of the county, and are doing excellent work. 

A system of classification registers, with duplicate reports to the superintendent 
leaves in each school a permanent individual record of pupils' and teacher's work. 

Uniform examination questions, prepared by the superintendent, test the thor- 
oughness of the work in the different schools and give teachers an opportunity to 
compare results. 

The rural schools are well classified, and the pupils understand what work is re- 
quired in each year and what must be accomplished to complete the course. 

The city schools of Baldwin, Eudora and Lecompton are thoroughly graded and 
—9 



130 History of Education in Kansas, 

are doing high-school work. The Baldwin schools have extended the course to three 
years of high-school work, and will soon meet the requirements of the freshman 
class in the University. 

The normal institute is one of the most potent factors in the progress of our 
schools. A four-weeks session is held each year, in the high-school building, at 
Lawrence. From three to four of the best instructors are employed each year. 
The enrollment in 1892 was 161. 

Teachers' meetings are held the second Saturday of each month, at the county 
seat, and the reading-circle studies are reviewed during the forenoon session. The 
exercises of the afternoon program consist of papers, discussions, and usually a 
lecture by some prominent educator. 

About 90 per cent, of the teachers were enrolled last year as members of the 
reading circle, and almost all did good work. 

President Eliot says, " The rural school is the ideal school." With a longer and 
more uniform term of school months, a more regular attendance, teachers better 
equipped for their work, and the hearty cooperation of those interested in the pub- 
lic schools, I believe that the country school may become just as efficient in the 
training of boys and girls as the best city school, and possibly approach very near 
President Eliot's standard — the ideal. 

Lawrence Public Schools.* — The board of education of the city of Law- 
rence, in its present form, was first organized May 6, 1867, in accordance with a law 
passed by the State Legislature the previous winter. 

The first settlers of Lawrence — and of Kansas, for that matter — were a pecul- 
iar people. They did not come, as immigrants usually come, mainly to find a home 
and new openings. They came with a purpose in their hearts. Their primary pur- 
pose was to make Kansas a free State. But while this was their primary thought^ 
to make Kansas free, they also had in mind what a free State ought to be. They 
came not only to combat slavery, but also to build up the institutions of freedom. 
Before they had builded their own houses, they founded churches and schools. They 
intended to found a free State after the old pattern, with religion, education and 
civil order as the foundation stones. Their purpose has never been better expressed 
than by the prophet bard, Whittier, in his "Song of the Kansas Emigrants :" 

"We cross the prairies, as of old 
The Fathers crossed the sea, 
To make the West, as they the East, 
The homestead of the free. 

" We come to plant the common schools 
On distant prairie swells, 
And give the Sabbaths of the wild 
The music of their bells." 

In his speech of welcome to Governor Reeder, the first Territorial Governor, ap- 
pointed by President Pierce, General Pomeroy, afterwards Senator Pomeroy, said: 
"We come with the open Bible, and the open spelling book. Our purpose is to 
place the one upon the pulpit of a free church, and the other upon the desk of a. 
free school." "A free school" was their ideal — I might almost say their hobby. 
They wanted a system of schools open and free to all the children of the common- 
wealth. 

In accordance with this sentiment and purpose, we find the first settlers of Law- 
renee opening schools before many of them had roo^s over their heads. Among 
them were many ardent friends of education, some of whom had been largely con- 
cerned in educational affairs. 



* Extracts from quarter-centennial address of Rev. R. Cordley, president of the board of educa- 
tion, May 6, 1892. 





J. E. KLOCK, 

Superintendent of City Schools, 
Leavenworth. 



ED. STANLEY, 

Superintendent of Public Schools, 

Lawrence. 




r^gf" 



W. H. WRIGHT, 

County Superintendent, Shawnee county. 




D. E. SANDERS, 

President of the Kansas Normal College, 
Fort Scott. 



Douglas County. 131 

The settlement of Lawrence began in August, 1854, and on the 16th day of Jan- 
uary following, 1855, Mr. Edward P. Fitch opened a school. There was no law by 
which taxes could be levied; so the citizens maintained the school by voluntary 
contributions, and threw it open to all the children. 

In the spring of 1857, arrangements were made for regular and more extensive 
operations. Mr. C. L. Edwards was engaged to take charge of what was called the 
"Quincy high school," thus named after Hon. Josiah Quincy, of Boston. The base- 
ment rooms of the Unitarian Church had been finished off, and were occupied by 
this school. 

In 1858, the city government was established, and the school came under the con- 
trol of school trustees, and was supported from the city treasury. Mr. Edwards 
continued in charge of the school for two years, but retired in 1859, having been elected 
superintendent of schools for the county. Mr. Charles W. Adams followed as prin- 
cipal, but a year or so later he entered the army, and served as colonel during the war. 
Then came S. M. Thorp, cultured, bright, and breezy. He was from Alfred Academy, 
in central New York, that hive from which so many leading minds came to Kansas 
in the early days. 

In 1861, an amendment to the city charter was secured, by which the schools were 
placed under the charge of a board of three trustees, one of whom was clerk of the 
board and superintendent of schools. A tax was levied for school purposes, and the 
proceeds were placed at the disposal of the board. 

It may seem strange that, in a town like Lawrence, with so many educated men and 
so many ardent friends of education, it should be without a single schoolhouse for 11 
years. But when we recall the turbulent times through which the city passed, the 
wonder ceases. First, there were the border troubles for three years; then, after 
three years of rest, the famine of 1860; and then followed four years of war. Yet 
during all this time Lawrence maintained first-class schools, free to all the people. 

In 1867, a new Law was passed, constituting the board of education essentially as 
it now exists. It provided for a board of six members — two from each ward. 

The report shows that there were at this time 11 teachers, and an enrollment of 
889, and a total expense for the year of above $10,000. 

The next four years may be aptly called the building era. Until the erection of 
the high-school building, there had been very little addition made to our school- 
room facilities since then. In about four years there were built or purchased in the 
two cities (north and south Lawrence), which were soon after one, eight school 
buildings — six on the south side of the river and two on the north. January 1, 
1865, the city did not possess a single school building of any kind. January 1, 1872, 
the two cities owned nine buildings, containing 24 rooms. The amount expended 
for all these buildings was about $75,000. 

One advantage the new board possessed was authority to employ a salaried su- 
perintendent of schools. The work of this office had grown to such proportions 
that it was more than ought to be asked of any unsalaried officer. By the new order, 
the superintendent was paid for the actual time he gave to the schools. Under this 
arrangement, Dr. Albert Newman was the first superintendent, followed a year later 
by Rev. W. C. Tenney, and he in turn by Prof. W. C. Rote, who served for a number 
of years. He was followed by Prof. W. H. Cole, who remained two years. Prof. D. 
B. English was then chosen, but left at the close of the year. In 1877, Prof. W. A. 
Boles became superintendent, and continued until 1880, when the present superin- 
tendent, Prof. E. Stanley, was elected. 

In 1870, north and south Lawrence were consolidated. This added over 1,000 
children to the census, over 600 to the enrollment. 

The growth of our schools during these 25 years has been steady and marked in 



132 History of Education in Kansas. 

all directions. I can only compare the figures, which never tell the whole story. 
Comparing the reports of 1867-'68 with the latest figures available, we find some in- 
teresting comparisons. The census of 1867 showed a school population of 1,286; 
the census taken last year shows a school population of 3,459. The enrollment at 
the first date was 889; the enrollment of the present year has been over 2,500. The 
board 25 years ago owned but one school building; they now own 10. The schools 
then occupied 6 rooms, and employed 11 teachers; they now occupy 42 rooms, and em- 
ploy 42 teachers. The high school alone occupies more room than did all the schools 
25 years ago. The entire cost of the schools then for the year was $10,159; the en- 
tire expense of the schools last year was $26,252. In the morale of the schools there 
has been greater progress than either in the number attending or the amount ex- 
pended. In 1867-'68, the average daily attendance was only 431, on an enrollment 
of 889; the average attendance was less than 50 per cent, of the enrollment. Last 
year the average daily attendance was 1,959, on a total enrollment of 2,432, or more 
than 80 per cent, of the enrollment. 

While the cost of our schools has increased from $10,000 per annum to $26,000, 
the enrollment has increased from less than 900 to more than 2,500. The cost per 
scholar, therefore, is less now than it was then, while the facilities are every way im- 
proved. 

The growth of our schools has nowhere been marked more than in the high 
school. This school was organized about 1870, and graduated its first class in 1875. 
When I first became acq-uainted with the school, at the commencement exercises of 
1885, there was a graduating class of 19. About that time the University began to 
drop off its preparatory department, and our school began to increase. This in- 
crease became so marked, it was evident we must make larger provision for it. It 
was evident also that the scope of the school must be enlarged, so as to fill the place 
made vacant by the dropping of the preparatory department at the University. 
This expansion must be in three directions: First, the scope of the school must be 
broadened to cover all the studies required in University preparation; secondly, the 
teaching corps must be increased to correspond with the enlarged scope of the 
school; thirdly, a building must be provided to accommodate this enlarged work. 
The aim of the school had been to give a good, solid education, without special re- 
gard to preparing students for college. There was a good English course of three 
years, with Latin as an optional. The board has since added Greek, and German, 
and French, and increased the number of courses to five. These courses are known 
as the classical, Latin-English, Latin scientific, modern literature, and the scientific. 
The school is now able to prepare students for any department of the University. 
Being right under the eaves of the University, our teachers are able to catch the 
spirit of that institution, and work in line with it. 

At the spring election, in 1889, a proposition was submitted to the people to au- 
thorize the board to issue bonds to the amount of $35,000 for a new building. The 
bonds were voted with remarkable unanimity and heartiness. The building was 
finished in the fall of 1890, and is a marvel of beauty, convenience, and cheapness. 
Its broad stairs and ample hall ways, its high and well-lighted rooms, its perfect sys- 
tem of heating and ventilation, make it one of the best buildings in the State for 
its purpose. Without being pretentious, the exterior presentation "is a thing of 
beauty and a joy forever." The growth of the high school has been steady and 
rapid. Five years ago it had four teachers; now it has eight. It then had 147 stu- 
dents; it now has 400. It then occupied a portion of the Central building; it now 
occupies nearly all of this large new building. 

The people of Lawrence have always been profoundly interested in their schools. 
They have never refused anything the schools have asked of them. They simply ask 



Douglas County. 133 

that their money be wisely expended. They want economical management, but they 
do not want niggardly management. "Be careful of our money," they say, "but do 
not cripple our schools. Our children have but one life, one youth, one chance for 
an education. We want them to 'get the best.' " I feel sure this is the general sen- 
timent of our people, and they will respond heartily to any reasonable call for the 
enlargement and improvement of the schools they love. 

And I think I can say confidently that our schools deserve the esteem in which 
they are held. No schools anywhere are doing better work. Our students stand 
among the best. Whether the students enter the University for further study, or 
engage in teaching or business, they stand equal to the best of the same grade. 
With better facilities and a larger scope, we expect still larger and better results. 

Hesper Academy. — During the spring and summer of 1884, the subject of es- 
tablishing an institution for higher education was frequently and earnestly discussed 
by the citizens of Hesper and vicinity. The object for which it was established, as 
set forth in the charter, is "to advance the cause of education, morals, and religion." 

The incorporators, who constituted the first board of trustees, were: Winslow 
Davis, George F. Rogers, Samuel Stanley, Barclay Thomas, and M. Chalkley Hill. 
The charter issued by the Secretary of State is dated June 10, 1884. The school 
was opened the following autumn, with Irvin Stanley as principal, and his wife as 
assistant. 

Hesper Academy is controlled by a joint-stock company, with capital stock of 
$5,000, being composed of 100 shares of $50 each. 

Since the opening of the school, the following persons have acted as principals, 
in the order named: Wilson Cox, Charles H. Edwards, Emma R. Clark, and Theodore 
Reynolds; likewise Lizzie Jessup, Alden Cox, John Hadley, Mattie Clark, Aurilena 
Ellis and Mary E. Lewis have acted in the capacity of assistants. 

The school building is a two-story frame, erected at a coss of $3,500. The aver- 
age enrollment is 60. A large per cent, of the graduates attend higher institutions 
of learning; a still larger number become teachers. Hesper Academy does prepar- 
atory work for any college or university in the West. The institution is dependent 
wholly upon tuition fees for its support. Average annual net receipts, $900. 

Hesper Academy is under the control of the Friends' church, only members of 
that denomination being eligible to the office of trustee. 

The first class graduated in 1887. The graduates now (1892) number 35. A 
good supply of apparatus, maps, charts, etc., are at the command of the teachers. 
The library consists of a large number of reference books, together with books for 
general reading, and quite a number of public documents, in all a little over 800 
volumes. 

Founded for a noble purpose, sustained amid untold difficulties, Hesper Academy 
is destined to do much good in molding public opinion, and shaping the destiny of 
the young people in attendance. 

Other Institutions. — Histories of the universities located in the county will 
be given under their appropriate headings, elsewhere in this volume. 



134 



History of Education in Kansas. 



FORD COUNTY.* 

Gov. T. A. Osborn issued a proclamation April 5, 1873, declaring Ford county 
duly organized, and at the same time appointed provisional officers, to serve until 
the special election, which was called for June 5, 1873. At this election, Morris Col- 
lor, one of the pioneer business men, was elected superintendent of public instruc- 
tion. Mr. Collor was reelected at the general election in November of the same 
year. He was followed by Dr. T. L. McCarty, by appointment, who made the first 
annual report, in 1874. Mr. Arthur Wilder taught the first school in Ford county, in 
1873, at a salary of $55 per month, in a building erected at Dodge City, the county 
seat. Miss Margaret Walker taughif the second year, at $60 per month. It will be 
interesting to examine the tabular statement given here. These items are taken 
from the annual reports of the county superintendents, beginning in 1874. 



TEAK. 


o f 


1? 

• ? 




11 

~a 


fete £ 
: 3<3 


.f 

Is 

ft 

. Co 


1 

o 


: © 


' 


S » S 

■a ?^ S. 

2 || 


Disbursements 
J or school 
purposes 




4 

H 


1874 


1 
1 
1 


30 
32 
54 


13 
13 

47 


110 

97 
80 


$55 00 
60 00 
60 00 


1 
1 

2 


1 
1 
1 


$2,025 00 
1,525 00 
2,030 00 








1875 


$1,842 69 
1,574 39 


$857 07 
1,499 54 


i 

2 




1876 




1877 




1878 


5 
14 
18 
16 

22 


255 
439 


150- 


399 
572 
592 
716 
1,002 


55 W 

36 75 


5 
13 


7 
8 




2,402 71 
7,036 96 


2,306 56 

5,880 87 


12 
26 




1879 


7,653 00 




1880 




1881 


729 

672 


315 
333 


46 00 
38 52 


17 
20 






6,763 19 
9,862 91 


5,470 70 
7,465 73 


19 

27 




1882 






20 


1883 . 








1884 


21 
31 

47 
54 
59 
59 
60 
61 


686 
851 
1,522 
1,823 
2,242 
2,060 
1,883 
1,543 


335 
447 
833 
901 
1,150 
1,508 
955 
927 


1,021 
2,516 
2,786 
2,759 
2,634 
2,342 
1,873 
1,728 


44 67 
43 94 
42 00 

40 38 
42 38 

41 45 

37 93 

38 79 


20 
40 
40 
61 
79 
87 
83 
76 


17 
19 
23 
39 
61 
68 
68 
70 


20,000 00 
21,450 00 
30,000 00 
36,000 00 
50,000 00 
67,060 00 
63,880 00 
72,579 00 


20,203 68 
20,253 20 
32,149 99 
37,133 81 
48,404 82 
42,630 67 
51,987 14 
37.704 35 


14,005 05 
15,654 94 
22,037 57 
31,694 00 
42,249 14 
36,699 41 
38,261 34 
30,359 07 


27 
44 
54 
85 
77 
91 
112 
89 


50 


1885 


50 


1886 


56 


1887 


86 


1888 

1889 


89 

85 


1890 


75 


1891 


80 


1892 






75 



In 1883, when Mr. Groendyke was elected county superintendent, about one- 
seventh of the State, comprising 15 unorganized counties, was attached to Ford 
county for judicial and school purposes. In all this area of 12,450 square miles 
there were at this time only five organized school districts, as follows: Cimarron, 
Garden City, Fowler City, Seward county, and Sherlock, west of Garden City; and 
all this territory had a school population of less than 300. These 15 counties, con- 
sidered the offspring of Ford, have all been fully organized since 1884, thus reliev- 
ing the Ford county superintendent by giving him a territory to supervise 30 miles 
north and south, and 36 miles east and west. 

It will be observed that this county, and most of the school districts in it, took 
their present form during Mr. Groendyke's administration. Ford county proper 
had only 110 children of school age when the first annual report was made, in 1874, 
reaching the highest number, 2,786, in 1886. Next year, Gray county was organized, 
and considerable territory was detached from Ford, leaving only 2,759 persons of 
school age in 1887. The schools of 1888 had the largest enrollment and daily attend- 
ance of any year in the history of the county. In 1889, there were employed 87 
teachers, the largest number for any one year. During the years 1887 and 1888, 
there were 40 school buildings erected, more than half the number in the county at 
present. 



*By David Swinehart, county superintendent. 



Ford County. 135 

The first normal institute was held in 1882. The following have been employed 
as conductors: A. P. Warrington, J. M. Abbott, J. C. Hamm, J. H. Hill, E. D. Webb, 
E. B. Smith, and J. E. Klock. The following have instructed in the institutes: Miss 
M. P. Spencer, Frank Aiken, John Groendyke, C. N. Edwards, E. D. Webb, F. A. Lee, 
J. A. Beadle, M. A. Woods, L. D. Ellis, D. Swinehart, and B. F. Nihart. 

Ford county has had six county superintendents — Morris Collor, T. L. McCarty, 
John Whittaker, John Groendyke, Fannie M. Thome, and D. Swinehart. 

The schools of the rural districts and those of Dodge City were under the same 
administration until 1886, when Dodge was organized into a city of the second class, 
the subsequent history of which is given under the heading of " Dodge City." 

It is generally conceded that our educational affairs rank second to those of no 
other county in the western part of the State. We cannot, of course, compete with 
the older and better-settled eastern counties, where the various systems adopted have 
had time to mature, and where the financial advantages are greater. 

The method pursued for several years, of graduating pupils from common schools, 
has proven a great incentive to more and better work on the part of both pupils 
and teachers. About 50 now hold common-school diplomas. 

The county board of examiners requires an average of 70 per cent., and allows a 
minimum of 50 per cent, for a third-grade certificate, and the number of such cer- 
tificates is limited by the following resolution: 

Resolved, That the board of examiners of Ford county, Kansas, will hereafter grant no more than 
three third-grade certificates to the same person: Provided, That those persons already holding third- 
grade certificates shall receive but two more. 

Ford county has held 11 normal institutes, all of which have been well attended, 
considering the number of teachers employed. Since this county claims to be the 
first in the State to organize a model training school on an extensive scale, it will 
probably not be out of place to speak of it briefly here. In order to avoid the pres- 
entation of mere theory without application, as is usually the case in our institutes, 
this county made a digression, in August, 1892, by organizing a model department, 
as an appendix to the normal institute. About 75 children, of different grades, were 
enrolled in this department, and placed in charge of two teachers specially prepared, 
and adapted to the grades represented. The theory advocated in the normal was 
exemplified by these teachers putting it into practice, either in their rooms, in the 
presence of those who were observing, or before the institute. The normal students 
were also frequently called upon to conduct recitations, under the direction of these 
special teachers and the conductor. Conductor J. E. Klock, whose efforts made the 
undertaking a success, says: "The average teachers fail to do professional work, 
not because they have not read or heard a sufficient amount of theory, but because 
of the fact that they have no opportunity of seeing 'theory' in practice. Teachers 
need proper ideals, and ideals are formed not by hearing, but by seeing." Our 
teachers are unanimous in pronouncing this the most practical institute in the his- 
tory of our county, and predict a great improvement in our schools; and the writer 
hopes to see the time when there will be a model training school in connection with 
every normal institute in the State. 



136 History of Education in Kansas. 



GEARY COUNTY.* 

The history of the schools of Geary county dates back to a period before the ad- 
mission of Kansas to the sisterhood of States — back to the days when the vital 
question to every Kansan was, whether Kansas should be free or slave. Notwith- 
standing the all-absorbing importance of this question, the people did not forget 
the necessity of providing for the education of the future citizens of the State. 

The first schools were private, or "select," schools, and were provided for by the 
interested parents, who paid tuition in proportion to the number of children in at- 
tendance. A subscription fund was usually raised for those who were unable to pay 
the necessary tuition. 

During the winter of 1858-'59, there were three schools of this character main- 
tained — one at Milford, one at Junction City, and one four miles northeast of Junc- 
tion City. A. B. Whitney, Samuel Orr and Marcia Pierce were the teachers of the 
several schools, respectively. 

Mrs. J. H. McFarland taught a select school for several years at Junction City, 
beginning the winter of 1860. She appears to have achieved signal success both as 
an instructor and disciplinarian. No one ever thought of disputing her authority, 
and woe betide the urchin that attempted to play "hookey" or loiter on the way to 
or from school. Her spelling schools were the literary life of the community. Ev- 
erybody participated. These schools served a most excellent purpose. Not much 
was attempted; but the thorough manner in which the "three Rs." were taught may 
well deserve careful consideration by many of our teachers of to-day. 

The first public school was organized in 1862. It comprised a territory about 
10 miles square, including what is now Junction City. As there was yet no public 
school building, a room was rented for this purpose. It was the upstairs of a " store " 
building that stood on the ground now occupied by the Bartell block. The room 
was furnished with benches, and County Superintendent O. Davidson employed as 
teacher; 72 pupils were enrolled. The same year a district was organized in Ash- 
land township, now Riley county. 

During the next year, eight additional districts were formed, and the county su- 
perintendent's report for that year shows 11 organized districts, with seven teachers 
— three males and four females. The average length of school term was 3f months, 
for which the male teachers received an average salary of $30 per month, and the 
female teachers an average salary of $15 per month. The total enrollment for the 
county was 165 pupils. 

None of the districts yet owned a school building, and the residence of the teacher 
was generally used for that purpose. Naturally, under such conditions, the advan- 
tages for obtaining an education were not of the highest order, but the opportunity 
of obtaining the rudiments of an education was, with certain restrictions, placed 
within the reach of all. 

By the year 1868, every organized district is reported as owning a school build- 
ing of some kind. Some were built of logs, some were frame, and a few were sub- 
stantial stone buildings that are still used for school purposes. The schools for this 
year, 1868, are all reported as without any school apparatus. The 20 years succeed- 
ing showed no very marked or uniform advancement. A few schools continued to 
improve in a manner commensurate with the material development of the country, 
but, owing to the utter lack of any system, this was the exception rather than the 
rule. During the greater part of this time the county superintendent had very little 
supervision of the schools. There was no concerted action on the part of the teach- 

*By J. W. Rodgeks, county superintendent. 



Geary County. 137 

ers, and no general plan of work for the several school districts. Each teacher pur- 
sued his own plan, or, more frequently, kept school without any definite object in 
view. The lack of uniform books, even in the same school, frequently rendered it 
impossible for the teacher to do satisfactory work. 

There had never been any regular teachers' meetings until the year 1887, since 
which time a regular county teachers' association has been maintained. The same 
year marks the introduction of county uniformity of text-books, since which event 
the educational advancement has been uniform and rapid. "With the adoption of 
uniformity of text-books, Speer's "Graded Course of Study" was introduced, and, 
although not fully followed in all the schools of the county, it has already resulted 
in excellent work under very adverse circumstances. The attendance has been very 
much more regular, and pupils remain in school an average of nearly two years 
longer than formerly. There is great economy of time. The teacher knows defi- 
nitely where to commence, and what work to attempt to accomplish; the pupil 
knows when he has finished the common-school course, and both are incited to do 
better work. 

Examinations for graduation are held the last Saturday in April of each year. 
The questions used are those prepared by the State Board for teachers' examina- 
tions. The first class graduated in 1889, and consisted of nine pupils. Nearly 40 
per cent, of the teachers for the year commencing September, 1892, are county- 
school graduates. Most of them have been induced to pursue their studies further 
elsewhere, and are among the very best teachers of the county. 

The standard of the teacher has been constantly advanced, both as regards schol- 
arship and general fitness. The roll of teachers for the year ending June, 1892, did 
not contain a single teacher who was not a subscriber for at least one educational 
paper, and each had read some standard work on pedagogy. 

The enrollment of the Geary county reading circle for the year 1892 included 
every teacher of the county but six. 

A county normal institute has been held in Geary county every year since 1877. 
The largest enrollment was in the June normal of 1891, when the number aggre- 
gated 87. 

The total number of schools in the county now numbers 44, including Junction 
City, and the total number of teachers required is 67. 

The aggregate expenditnres for all school purposes for the year ending June, 
1892, was $34,753.28. 

The valuation of all the school property for this year is a little over $90,000. 

The average salary paid to male teachers is $49.44 per month, and to female? 
$39.92 per month. 

The total enrollment of pupils is: Males, 1,218; females, 1,203. 

Geary county has had 15 different county superintendents, only one of whom 
served more than two terms. 

The following is a complete list of the county superintendents, together with date 
of commencement of service: James Magill, 1860; O. Davidson, 1861; A. B. White, 
1862; Lorenzo Gates, 1864; M. E. Clark, 1865; Caleb Blood, 1866; D. M. Gage, 1867; 
T. G. Horn, 1869; I. Jacobus, 1871; M. S. Marler, 1873; J. A. Truex, 1875; Mr. Rey- 
nolds, 1884; W. T. McDonald, 1885; T. S. Harkins, 1887; J. W. Rodgers, 1891. 



138 History of Education in Kansas. 



GREENWOOD COUNTY.* 

Greenwood county was first settled in 1856, but not organized until 1862. The 
educational interests early fell into the hands of those whose determination it was to 
make the school facilities keep pace with the rapid increase in school population. 
The endeavors put forth to reach and maintain a high standard of educational work 
have been crowned with a very flattering degree of success. 

The first school in the county appears to have been taught near the present city 
of Madison, in the north part of the county. A private school was taught, however, 
in the fall of 1858, in Eureka, by Edwin Tucker. This was four years prior to the 
organization of the county, and 10 years before Eureka was little more than a coun- 
try cross-roads post office. 

Among the pioneer teachers were enlisted the following-named persons, some of 
whom are still with us and well known in the county and State: Edwin Tucker, Miss 
L. L. Tucker, Miss Anna Cutter, H. A. Dales, Miss Mary Claycomb, Arthur Gleason, 
L. N. Fanchier, and others. These taught in the days when log huts, dugouts, slab 
shanties and rock forts were the abodes of the settlers. 

As early as 1870, a county normal institute was organized and held in Eureka. 
From the proceedings of this first institute we copy the following: 

" Tuesday, November 15, 1870. — Pursuant to the call of the county superintend- 
ent, the institute met in the schoolhouse, Eureka, at 2 o'clock p.m., and was called to 
order by Mr. W. E. J. Nixon, county superintendent, as chairman of the institute. 
P.C.Hughs, Esq., was appointed secretary." [Here the names of those who be- 
came members of the institute are given. Twenty-five teachers were enrolled.] "A 
committee on program of proceedings was then appointed by the chairman, con- 
sisting of Misses Hawkins and Stamm and Mr. J. E. Walters, who reported a series 
of exercises, which was adopted, and the proceedings throughout the session of the 
institute conducted in accordance with the same, with slight changes as the occasion 
demanded. Miss Stamm and Mr. Barrier were appointed critics for the day. Exer- 
cises in reading were conducted by Miss Hawkins. Question for discussion: 'What 
is reading?' Defined by Miss Hawkins, that 'reading is the adequate expression of 
the thoughts and emotions of a written or printed composition in vocal utterances,' 
which definition was followed by a short lecture on reading, which was listened to 
by all with great interest. A discussion on the pronunciation of words was partici- 
pated in by nearly all who were present. It was then moved by Mr. Watt that the 
sessions of the institute be held from 9 o'clock a. m. to 12 m., and from 2 to 5 p. m. 
Adjourned till Wednesday morning." 

And thus the records proceed to chronicle faithfully each day's proceedings, until 
we find that, with exercises in reading, spelling, gymnastics, arithmetic, music, gram- 
mar, geography, diagraming, addresses, and lectures, we have reported the doings 
of one of the first normal institutes in Kansas. The minutes of this first institute 
form a part of the official records in the county superintendent's office. Annual in- 
stitutes, of the same nature as this one just described, continued in vogue until the 
year 1877, when the present law went into effect. The enrollment has grown from 
25, in 1870, to 205, in 1892. 

In 1867, there were 17 organized districts in the county, but after that date dis- 
tricts were organized with great rapidity, and, in the year 1879, there were 80 dis- 
tricts, with a reported school population of 3,424; in 1882, 90 districts, with a school 
population of 4,219; and in 1887 there were 106 districts, with a school population 
of more than 6,000. Greenwood county now has 113 organized districts, and 129 

*By P. F. Yeakout, county superintendent. 



Greenwood County. 139 

schoolrooms, outside the city of Eureka, in which there were enrolled, during the 
school year of 1892, 3,807 pupils. The total school population of the same year, as 
reported by district clerks, was 5,601 persons. 

In the year 1866, it appears the amount disbursed for teachers' wages was some- 
thing over $1,400; and the children attending school during that year were over 600 
During the year 1892, the total amount received for school purposes was $50,160.01 
and the total amount paid out during the year for school purposes was $42,040.99, 
and of this amount, $31,701.23 was paid for teachers' wages and supervision. 

With increased population, better-tilled farms, and better farm houses and their 
resulting comforts, came new zeal and a fresh supply of enthusiasm in the work of 
education, which gradually tended to systematize the school work throughout the 
county, until now it ranks among the first in the State. Much credit is due the tax- 
payers of the county, upon whom of necessity the chief burden must fall. First-class 
work has been and is demanded, which can only be secured at the price of first-class 
wages. The teachers and county superintendents have been diligent and earnest in 
organizing the work to make it more effective, and have succeeded in grading all 
the schools of the county. 

The complete list of county superintendents is as follows: 

For Madison county, of which Greenwood county is, in part, formed: John W 
Thorn, 1859; A. K. Hawks, 1860-'61. 

For Greenwood county: Edwin Tucker, 1862-'64; F. G. Allis, 1866; W. E. J. 
Nixon, 1868; L. H. Piatt, 1870; G. H. Martz, 1872; H. T. Johns, 1874; J. F. Troxell, 
1876; G.H. Martz, 1878-'82; Georgiana Daniels, 1882-'86; G. W. Kendrick, 1886-'90; 
P. F. Yearoat, 1890. 

Mr. Allis, Mr. Nixon and Mr. Tucker still reside in this county. They are among 
our honored and most highly-respected citizens. Miss Daniels, now Mrs. Newhouse, 
resides in El Dorado, Kas. J. F. Troxell removed to Colorado, where he died in the 
year 1891. G. H. Martz now resides in Greenville, Ohio. He is, at this writing, a 
banker. G. W. Kendrick is superintendent of the Clay Centre schools, of this State, 
having removed to that place at the expiration of his term. 

The writer is informed that L. H. Piatt now resides in Topeka. The where- 
abouts of H. T. Johns is not known. 

At this place, it would be interesting to give a list of the teachers of the county, 
but it is impossible to do so, as the early records are silent. This much is, however, 
known, that the pioneer teachers of this county were made up of some of the best 
material from New England, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. 

To Georgiana Daniels is due much credit for having prepared the first course of 
study for the common schools of the county. This course of study was carefully 
prepared, and contained many practical suggestions that aided teachers greatly in 
their work. This course contained a plan for adoption for each district, which was 
as follows: 

At a regular meeting of the district board of school district No. — , Greenwood county, Kansas, held 

at , on the day of , 18 — , this course of study was adopted for use in the school of said 

district. [Signed] , Director. 

, Clerk. 

, Treasurer. 

The work of organization and gradation has gone steadily forward, and each 
year marks a step higher in the educational scale of advancement. By means of nor- 
mal institutes, reading circle, county and district associations, our teachers are be- 
coming broader, deeper, and more thoroughly competent to perform their duties 
in the schoolroom, with greater satisfaction, better and more permanent results 
than it was possible to attain in the past. The old and inconvenient school build- 
ings are being replaced by large, commodious and well-ventilated schoolrooms, many 



140 History of Education in Kansas. 

of which are fully equipped with the latest and most useful aids and appliances nec- 
essary to the furtherance of the cause of education. 

What has been accomplished in the past is an earnest of what we shall do in the 
future. Education is yet in its infancy, and as it moves onward, gaining and add- 
ing new vigor and strength to itself, Greenwood county shares in its development 
and its glory. 

Eureka Schools.* — Eureka is the pioneer town of the county in educational 
matters. In 1865, some years before it was more than a cross-roads post station, Mr. 
Edwin Tucker started a private school, for the convenience of his neighbors. Later, 
after the county was organized and school-district boards took up the work of pro 
viding means for educating the youth of this and other hamlets, Edwin Tucker, 
Miss L. L. Tucker, Miss Anna Cutter, Arthur Gleason, L. N. Fanchier, H. A. Dales, 
Miss Mary Claycomb and others wielded the birch in Eureka, or, more probably, 
the hickory. 

Early in the 70's, filled with a belief in the future greatness of Eureka, the peo- 
ple erected, on Prospect Hill, a stone schoolhouse, at a cost of $20,000. The great 
cost of this building was largely due to the fact that everything except the stone 
was hauled by teams from Emporia, 50 miles away. With the advent of railroads 
came a large increase in the population of the town, and a great diminution in the 
cost of building. A second four-room stone building was erected in the western 
part of the city in 1886, and a two-room frame building in the northern part, both 
at only a cost of $10,500. These buildings accommodate nearly 600 pupils, and all 
of them are pleasantly located, and are surrounded with ample playgrounds. The 
one on Prospect Hill, with the high bluffs bordering Fall river in the far and near 
distance, commands one of the finest views in the county. Here, from 1872 to 1883, 
aided by from three to seven teachers, J. F. Troxell, G. H. Martz, C. C. Robbins, J. 
M. Ross and J. S. Gallagher deepened and broadened the educational work in the 
Eureka schools. 

During the next five years, L. C. Wooster, under the direction of the district 
board, and finally of the board of education, reorganized the schools and established 
a course of study. This course of study gave an outline for 12 years of work in the 
common and preparatory branches of study, and became the basis for the subse- 
quent excellent work done in the schools. This course was especially strong in lan- 
guage work and the natural sciences. W. S. Picken, who became superintendent in 
1888, adapted this course more closely to the requirements of the State University, 
and, by shortening it one year, prepared a class for graduation in June, 1889, the 
first in the history of the schools. Mr. Picken, ably supported by Dr. J. Dillon, 
president of the board of education, did most excellent work in the cause of educa- 
tion, and succeeded in inducing more and more of the boys and girls each year to 
remain and complete one of the courses of study. 

In 1891, E. T. Hand, and in 1892, G. A. Bower, became superintendents, and 
profiting by the mistakes as well as the successes of their predecessors have guided 
the school work into the stiller waters which surround long or well-established prec- 
edents. 

School work in Eureka, as in every new community, has suffered somewhat from 
the spirit of change which possesses the people. New sets of children, whose previ- 
ous training has been of all degrees of excellence, come to the schoolrooms at all 
seasons of the year, and other children, whose school ways have become established, 
take their departure. 

The needs of a rapidly-increasing population are met with the greatest difficulty. 
All sorts of buildings have to be brought into use. One small building, at Eureka, 

* By L. C. Wooster, superintendent Kansas Educational Exhibit, Columbian Exposition. 



Greenwood County. 141 

at various times served the purpose of a saloon, city hall, engine room, and primary- 
school building, and later of a stable. But here, as elsewhere, permanent buildings 
were erected as soon as possible, and sometimes sooner than perhaps was wise, and 
all modern conveniences given to the school children. 

As in all new countries, and, perhaps, in some older ones as well, the burden of 
taxation is very unequally distributed among the districts of Greenwood county. 
Those districts so fortunate as to be traversed by one or more railroads can readily 
employ such teachers as they wish, and erect and furnish all the school buildings 
they need, without being heavily burdened with taxation. District No. 4, in which 
Eureka is situated, is one of the most favored in the county in this respect, and the 
railroad taxes must be considered as one of the most potent factors in the growth of 
the Eureka schools. 

But undoubtedly the desire for the best school facilities for their children was 
brought by the parents from the tier of States bordering the Ohio river on the 
north, the old Northwest Territory. Indeed, nearly 40 per cent, of the children were 
born in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and a much larger per cent, of the parents. The 
desire for an education was born in the children, and the writer feels that he does 
not exaggerate when he says that not in Eureka, nor in Greenwood county alone, 
but in all Kansas, the best blood of the entire United States flows in the arteries of 
its people. 

Southern Kansas Academy.* — The Southern Kansas Academy was organ- 
ized under the auspices of the Southern Association of Congregational Churches 
of Kansas. In September, 1884, the association voted to locate the academy at 
Eureka, and to liberally endow it, provided a site and suitable building were fur- 
nished by those locally interested in such an institution. The citizens of the town 
and county donated a site of 15 acres, and erected thereon a brick and stone build- 
ing, at a cost of $13,000. 

The school was opened in September, 1886, with Prof. A. J. Burnell as principal. 
Four classes, with a total membership of 42, have been graduated from the three- 
and four-year courses, beginning with the class of 1889. 

The academy does ordinary academic work, fitting its graduates to enter the 
freshman class of the State University, or other similar institutions. The purpose 
of its founders was to establish and maintain a Christian school of a high order, but 
altogether nonsectarian. 

Like most academies which are dependent upon the voluntary gifts of friends, in 
large part, for support, the Southern Kansas Academy has had a struggle for exist- 
ence; but the board of trustees hopes soon to secure a permanent endowment 
fund sufficiently large to give it liberal financial support. 

The enrollment last year and this has been about 80. The faculty for the year 
1892-'93 consists of E. G. Lancaster, A. M., principal, and teacher of mental and moral 
science, classics, and arithmetic; C. L. Upton, A. B., teacher of natural sciences and 
algebra; Miss Eva M. Gowing, A. B., teacher of classics and literature; Mrs. E. G. 
Lancaster, A. M., teacher of German, mathematics, and essays. The courses of study 
are: Classical, scientific, literary and normal, and preparatory. 

The classical course prepares for the classical course in college. A thorough 
foundation will be laid. Careful drill in Greek and Latin forms. Much time will be 
given to sight reading, and care to good English in translation. Classical history, 
geography and literature will be made familiar. In addition to most academic 
courses, we offer a whole year in general history. This course opens the way to the 
broadest culture and strongest mental training. 

The scientific course prepares the way for the scientific course in college. It 

*By Edwin Tuckek, Eiireka, Kas. 



142 History of Education in Kansas. 

substitutes German, physics, rhetoric, physical geography, bookkeeping, zoology,, 
and chemistry for Greek. It thus gives a practical education for business. The 
course is four years, but students may graduate in three years, as they are then 
prepared for college. The fourth year is for those who do not go to college, or who 
desire more extended preparation. Those who are to take the fourth-year mathe- 
matics may elect higher algebra in place of zoology and chemistry. English, essays, 
declamations, and elocution, the same as classical course. 

The next course is termed literary and normal, from its somewhat composite 
character. 

A college course is now possible to everyone who will make the effort, and the 
loss of the culture and mental growth which it alone gives will be much more 
keenly regretted in a few years in our State, as education advances. Still, for those 
who do not see the need of a full college course, or who cannot spare time for it, we 
furnish a four-years course, which will give them a practical education and a good 
position in literary circles. At the end of the first year, students are prepared for 
second-grade teachers' certificates; at the end of the second year, for first-grade cer- 
tificates. Declamations and essays the first three years, like the other courses; ora- 
tions and elocution the fourth year. Those who intend to elect mathematics the 
fourth year may take the higher algebra, in place of zoology and chemistry, the 
third year. 

The building is a large, light and well-ventilated structure, two stories above the 
basement, and well adapted for school purposes. It commands a fine view of the 
city and the surrounding" country. The library contains over 1,000 volumes, well 
catalogued. The cabinet of rocks and minerals contains about 500 specimens. 

The academy occupies one of the most favorable locations in southern Kansas, 
being situated on an eminence at the north end of Main street, in Eureka, Green- 
wood county, and in a city which is one of the most healthful places in the United 
States. The population is about 2,500, without a saloon, six churches, and a good 
system of waterworks and electric lights. It is accessible either by the Fort Scott, 
Wichita & Western railway, or the Howard branch of the Atchison, Topeka & 
Santa Fe railway, connecting Emporia and Moline. 



JEWELL COUNTY. 



No history of the Jewell county schools was prepared by the proper officer. 
The following sketch of the schools of Mankato, one of its most important 
towns, was written by Supt. E. M. Brockett. 

Mankato Schools. — While the original settlers were still scrambling for choice 
farms within the boundaries of Center township, Jewell county, a portion of them 
still dwelling in the "prairie schooner" which conveyed them to the new colony, and 
while others had just completed the rude shelter which, for the present, was to be 
called by the endearing name of home, the noble settlers found time to arrange for 
the mental development of the rising generation; and in the summer of 1874 the 
necessary funds were raised by subscription, and Miss Sadie Shaw engaged to in- 
struct the children in the rudiments of an education, in the district of which Man- 
kato is now a part. 

In 1873, arrangements were made for the erection of a schoolhouse of two depart- 
ments, which was completed and ready for use the following year. 

The first term of school paid for out of the public treasury was taught in the 
new building, by J. W. Pickel, for which he received a salary of $30 per month, 



Labette County. 143 

which was good pay compared with the salary of D. J. Vance, who, in the early set- 
tlement of the town, stood behind a soap box and transacted the business of post- 
master for $12 per year, and also of our venerable townsman, L. J. Gould, who 
willingly contracted to carry the mail to and from Jewell City for $2 per quarter. 

The first attempt at grading the schools was made in 1889, by Miss Emma Dorant, 
who was for three years an efficient principal. 

This building sufficed for the accommodation of the district until 1884, when the 
increase of school population necessitated more commodious quarters. A fine 
structure of four departments, built of native stone, was ready for use in 1885. 

The first principal to wield the scepter in the new building was Professor Met- 
calf. A rapid growth of the city marked the progress of the next few years, and in 
1890 the schools had again outgrown their accommodations, and two new depart- 
ments were added, making the present value of our school property $16,000. 

Between the time of the erection of the first stone structure and the time of the 
building of the last addition, the schools had been presided over by four different 
principals — Professor Metcalf, Prof. Wm. Ebaugh, Professor Southard, of Penn- 
sylvania, and Prof. J. G. Long, also of Pennsylvania. 

The supervision of the schools, with their additional departments, now came under 
the direction of Prof. E. M. Brockett, a graduate of Valparaiso, Ind., Normal School, 
Mr. Brockett is a man of wide experience in the educational field, and though still 
young, has been engaged in teaching in Minnesota and Ohio, and in both normal 
and public-school work in the States of Missouri and Kansas. Under his administra- 
tion our city schools, as well as our county normals, of which he was for several years 
conductor, rapidly advanced to prominence, and attracted many students from all 
parts of the county. This increase in numbers created a demand for a more compre- 
hensive curriculum and a greater number of teachers. By untiring efforts, Professor 
Brockett succeeded in securing the employment of an assistant, and in so thoroughly 
revising and improving the course of study that the pupils of the schools are now, 
without examination, admitted to all the educational institutions of the State. With 
Professor Brockett still at the helm, assisted by W. S. Pate, as assistant principal, E. 
A. Ross, of grammar department, Mrs. 0. A. Spencer, intermediate, and Misses Bina 
LaBar and Anna Converse in primary grades, our schools are now in the midst of 
their most successful season. 

Mention may here be made of our school library, consisting of about 300 vol- 
umes, well and carefully selected. Of this library we are justly proud, since the 
greater part of it has been secured by the united efforts of the present teachers and 
pupils. 



LABETTE COUNTY. 



No history of this county was prepared by the proper officer. The fol- 
lowing sketch of the schools of Parsons, was written by Supt. H. C. Ford. 

Parsons Schools. — The city of Parsons is located in the northern part of La- 
bette county, three miles from the Neosho county line. Track laying on the Neosho 
division of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad reached this place May 20, 1870. 
A town company had already been formed. The town was named in honor of Mr. 
Levi Parsons, one of the presidents of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad. 

Before the organization of the city, a school district, No. 33, had been formed by 
R. J. Elliot, superintendent of public instruction for Labette county, sometime in 
the year 1867. At a school-district meeting held soon after for that purpose, the fol- 
lowing officers were chosen: Anson Kellogg, director; George M. Wilson, clerk; Jo- 



144 History of Education in Kansas. 

seph Simpson, treasurer. At this meeting a certain per cent, was levied for teachers' 
fund, which, when collected, amounted to $14.04, as may be seen by the treasurer's 
books. 

The first school, a three-months term, was taught by Miss Maria Hussey, for the 
sum of $16.67 per month. Even this amount had to be raised by subscription. The 
whole number enrolled was 15; the average daily attendance, 10. 

The first schoolhouse, a one-story frame building, 18x34 feet, was erected early in 
1871, on the corner of Appleton and Twenty-first streets, at a cost of $625. In 
August of the same year, an addition of six feet was ordered to be built, and a par- 
tition to be put in dividing the house into two rooms — 18x24 feet, and 16x18 feet, 
respectively. Two teachers were employed for the winter — Mr. E. H. Taylor, at $50, 
and Miss Sophia Emery, at $40 per month. The whole number enrolled was 109; 
average daily attendance, 44. 

The minutes for August 10, 1871, say that Anson Kellogg was paid $2 for "chalk 
and water for the school." ( Mr. Kellogg was not in the milk business.) The water 
was for the pupils to drink, and the chalk for use on the blackboard. 

The growth of the city was so rapid that, on October 3, 1871, the citizens voted 
to issue $15,000 in school bonds. With this fund, a four-room brick building was 
erected, on Seventeenth street, between Forest and Johnson avenues. . The board of 
education paid J. G. Haskell $200 for the plans and specifications, and T. B. Doug- 
lass $12,200 for building the house. The following year, Mr. E. H. Taylor was paid 
$75 per month as principal of the schools. 

To relieve the cramped condition of the schools, in 1874 another two-story brick 
schoolhouse, costing the same as the former, was erected, on Twenty-fourth street, 
between Belmont and Corning avenues. In 1880, another schoolhouse was erected, 
on Stevens avenue, between Central avenue and Eighteenth street. This building 
was much larger than those built in previous years. As the city has grown, and 
more schoolroom was needed, these buildings have all been enlarged — the first two 
brick buildings to six-room schools, and the last to an 11-room school. In 1884 
a four-room school was erected on Twenty-sixth street, between Stevens and Dirr 
avenues. 

For many years the board of education has maintained a high school. The teach- 
ing was done principally by the superintendent and his assistant for some years. 
The first class (1882) graduated consisted of only one member, Miss Maude Keyser, 
now Mrs. Gregg. Rosalee Perry had charge of the high school. Since that time, 84 
have graduated from the high school. Of this number, 35 have engaged in teach- 
ing, 12 of whom are now employed in the Parsons city schools. 

J. W. Richardson, now one of the assistant supervisors of Indian schools, under 
the Secretary of the Interior, was the next principal in charge. He was succeeded 
by J. N. Selby, in 1883-'84. Mr. A. Moore had charge of the high school in 1884-'85. 
He was succeeded by J. W. Iden, the next year. Mr. Iden is now practicing law in 
Parsons, and is clerk of the board of education. Mr. I. J. Uzzell was principal in 
1886-'87. H. G. Woodrow, now of Salina, was at the head of the high school for two 
years, 1887-'89. He was succeeded by E. T. Hand, who left here to take charge of 
the Eureka schools, in 1891. Mr. P. C. Hoyt, the present principal, was elected in 
1891. 

The high school has been held in various buildings, as room could be most con- 
veniently provided. July 11, 1892, the city voted to issue $35,000 in bonds, for the 
purpose of erecting a high school. This building is in process of erection, and when 
completed will be one of the most handsome structures in the State. It will consist 
of an assembly room, capable of seating 200 pupils, six schoolrooms, library, labora- 
tory, reception room, principal's office and superintendent's office. The Smead sys- 



Labette County. 145 

tem of heating and ventilating is to be used, also his system of dry closets. The 
style of architecture is of the most modern type. The house is to be finished and 
furnished in first-class style throughout. 

After the organization as a city of the second class, the first president was Geo. 
H. Reynolds, who served one year. His successor, O. L. Hall, served only seven 
months. Geo. W. Biggs served the remainder of that term. He was succeeded the 
following year by G. C. West. The next president, A. Wilson, served three years, 
from May, 1876, to May, 1879. Others served as follows: R. H. Patrick, 1879-'82; 
Wm. Mosher, 1882-'83; S. W. Kniffin, 1883-'84; J. M. Gregory, 1884-'85; W. Z. Quick, 
1885-'86; I. N. McCreery, 1886-'87; J. N. Caldwell, 1887- '88; R. D. Talbot, 1888-'89; 
Dr. J. T. Tinder, 1889-'91; A. H. Tyler, 1891-'92. 0. H. Stewart was elected in May, 
1892, served two months, and resigned. G. H. L. Coplen was chosen to fill out the 
remainder of the year. The present board consists of the following members: C. 
Brewster, Wm. Gillies, J. W. Hogue, Ira F. Adams, C. W. King, R. M. Johnson; G. H. 
L. Coplen, and J. S. Young. 

The following men have served as clerk of the board of education: W. A. Gillam, 
P. M. Griffin, M. Noyes, George Thornton, James Grimes, A. H. Tyler, C. W. Duzan, 
A. G. Thurman, and J. W. Iden, the present incumbent. Mr. Tyler has held the po- 
sition longer than any other person. He was in office seven years — from 1882 to 
1887, five years; and from May, 1888, to 1890, two years. Mr. Grimes served from 
May 7, 1877, to May 1, 1882, five years. Mr. Iden, the present clerk, was elected in 
May, 1890. 

Parsons was organized as a city of the second class February 23, 1873, at which 
time J. H. Griffith was principal of the schools. He was teaching a three-months 
term, at $75 per month. His assistants were Mr. A. C. Peck, Miss Sophia Emery, 
and Miss Ala Burnette, each receiving a salary of $50 per month. 

When the first regularly-elected board of education was organized, the following 
May 5, 1873, J. G. Parkhurst, an attorney, was "appointed as superintendent and 
chairman of the board of examiners." He served until January 3, 1874. " Having 
been tendered a vote of thanks by the board of education, his further services were 
dispensed with," and the principal of the schools, David Donovan, was chosen to 
fill the office till the end of the school term. 

Mrs. E. J. J. Collins served as superintendent and principal teacher for the year 
1874-'75. 

June 26, 1875, Milton W. Reynolds was appointed superintendent, and served 
until January 19, 1876, at which time the office was declared vacant. Mr. Reynolds 
and Mr. Parkhurst seem to have served for "glory" alone, as neither of them re- 
ceived any compensation. Mr. P. M. Griffin, a member of the board of education, 
was "appointed to take cases of insubordination in hand, and perform the duties 
of superintendent until such time as a superintendent shall be elected." From the 
above, it appears that there were some unruly pupils in the schools. 

During the year 1875-76, Mrs. J. M. Arthur served as principal teacher. Since 
that time, Mrs. Arthur, now Mrs. L. B. Kellogg, of Emporia, has been admitted to 
the bar, and has made for herself an honorable reputation in the legal profession. 

The following year, 1876-'77, Mr. B. F. Hickey served as superintendent and 
principal teacher. 

July 18, 1877, Mr. George Thornton, a former member of the board, was ap- 
pointed superintendent, and served until the election of Mr. M. Chidester, of Leav- 
enworth, Kas., August 14, 1877. Mr. Chidester filled the position for three years. 
He was afterward elected county superintendent. He is now in the Indian service, 
superintendent of an Indian boarding school, at Hoopa Valley, Cal. 
—10 



14(3 Hidory of Education in Kansas. 

Mr. 0. M. McPherson, of Pierce City, Mo., was elected in 1880, and served one 
year. 

In 1881, Mr. Lee Tomlin, of Oakland City, Ind., was elected. He held the posi- 
tion for seven years. Under his supervision the schools made excellent progress. 
The high school was improved. During his term of office the first class completed 
the course of study — the class of '82. For the first year Mr. Tomlin's salary was 
$640. At the close of his term of office he was receiving $100 per month. Mr. 
Tomlin is now superintendent of the El Dorado, Kas., schools. 

Mr. C. H. Harris was the next superintendent. He was elected in 1888, and served 
three years. He is now practicing law in St. Paul, Minn. 

The present incumbent, Mr. H. C. Ford, was elected May 11, 1891. He came to 
Kansas in 1878; graduated from the State Normal School, Emporia, in 1880. He 
has been superintendent or principal of schools continuously since that time. 

Under the first superintendent, Mr. Parkhurst, the entire enrollment was 365; 
average daily attendance, 300; number of teachers employed, 6. In 1883, 10 years 
after, there were employed, beside the superintendent, 13 teachers. The entire en- 
rollment was 1,450; average daily attendance, 808. Nine years later, 1891-'92, there 
were in the city 2,418 children of school age; number of children enrolled, less trans- 
fers, 1,701; average daily attendance, 1,205; number in the high school, 85; number 
in the graduating class, 16; number of teachers, besides superintendent, 26. 

The schools of this city consist of primary, grammar and high-school depart- 
ments. The primary schools embrace the first four grades; the grammar schools 
embrace the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades; the high school embraces the 
ninth, tenth and eleventh years' work. Pupils who wish it are prepared for the 
State University or for college. It is, therefore, one of the "approved high schools ' r 
of the State. 

A good beginning has been made in each school in the way of a circulating li- 
brary. One of these has about 200 volumes; the others, 65 to 100 each. The high 
school has a reference library of about 300 volumes. This includes the standard cy- 
clopedias and historical and biographical works. 

The present corps of teachers consists of 28 members, each of whom belongs to 
the Kansas State teachers' reading circle. Regular meetings are held for the dis- 
cussion of work and methods. 



LEAVENWOKTH COUNTY. 

No history of this county was prepared by the proper officer. The follow- 
ing sketch of the schools of Leavenworth, a city of the first class, was written 
by Supt. J. E. Klock. 

Leavenworth City Schools. — This is a year of retrospection. In review- 
ing the progress of the last four centuries, we should not overlook our system of 
popular education, the wisest and surest safeguard of popular government. The 
history of the Leavenworth schools begins with the organization of the board. On 
July 3, 1858, a board of trustees for common schools, consisting of S. A. Marshall, 
Jared Phillips, Levi Houston, and Nelson McCracken, was chosen. Before the close 
of the year, this board divided the city into three districts, and opened a school in 
each. 

By a change made in the laws of the city in 1864, the board of trustees was dis- 
solved, and the board of education, consisting of 12 members, was organized. At 
that time the duties of the clerk were especially important and onerous. He was a 



Leavenworth County. 147 

voting member of the board, kept all records, and was, ex officio, the superintendent 
of the schools. Mr. B. L. Baldridge discharged the threefold duties of this office for 
one year; David J. Brewer, our honored justice of the United States Supreme Court, 
for four years, and Mr. T. A. Hurd, for two years. 

Another important change was made in the school law of the city in 1870. The 
duties of the superintendent and the clerk were made distinct, and were discharged 
not by members, but by salaried officers of the board. 

Following is a list of the presidents of the board, from 1864 to the present time: 
Geo. A. Moore, 1864; David J. Brewer, 1865; Geo. A. Eddy, 1865; W. H. Ralston, 
1865-'67; J. L. Weaver, 1867-70; H. L. Newman, 1870-'72; T. A. Hurd, 1872-'74; Wm. 
McNeil Clough, 1874-76; J. F. Richards, 1876-77; 0. B. Taylor, 1877-78; A. B. 
Havens, 1878-'80; John Wilson, 1880-'81; J. L. Weaver, 1881-'82; Samuel F. Burdett, 
1882-'83; Lewis Mayo, 1883-'84; D. M. Swan, 1884-'86; R. A. Ketner, 1886-'87; J. W. 
Park, 1887-'88; L. A. Knox, 1888-'90; Lewis Mayo, 1890-'92; H. W. Ide, 1892-'93. 

The regular meetings of the board are held the first Monday evening of each 
month, in the Missouri Valley Building. 

The officers and standing committees for the present year are as follows: Presi- 
dent, H. W. Ide; vice president, Geo. H. Davis; superintendent, J. E. Klock; clerk, 
J.W.Park. Ways and means — Jno. R. Garrett, T. A. Hurd, Lewis Mayo. High 
school — L. A. Knox, 0. B. Taylor, T. A. Hurd. Teachers and salaries — Lewis Mayo, 
Geo. H. Davis, L. A. Knox. Buildings and grounds — Geo. H. Davis, M. Smith, Ed, 
C. Fritsche. Auditing — M. Smith, Ed. C. Fritsche, J. C. Ly sle. Janitors — J. C. Lysle, 
Lewis Mayo, Geo. H. Davis. Supplies — H. S. Burr, J. C. Lysle, 0. J. Twogood. Fur- 
niture and apparatus — Ed. C. Fritsche, 0. J. Twogood, H. S. Burr. Text-books and 
course of study — 0. J. Twogood, H. S. Burr, 0. B. Taylor. Printing — 0. B. Taylor, 
Jno. R. Garrett, M. Smith. School laws, rules, and regulations — T. A. Hurd, L. A. 
Knox, Jno. R. Garrett. 

The first superintendent after the legislation referred to above was Dr. Malcolm 
McVicar, of New York, a cultured and enthusiastic educator. He brought with him 
a corps of able assistants, professional teachers, whom he placed at the heads of the 
various departments. He introduced the graded system, and for one year struggled 
against the adverses that invariably meet the pioneer in this work. 

His successor was his first assistant, Dr. P. J. Williams, whose many services to 
the cause of education in our State have been invaluable. For six years he carried 
forward the work so ably begun by Doctor McVicar. 

After Doctor Williams's resignation, in 1876, Mr. John Wherrell served two years. 
He was succeeded, in 1878, by Supt. F. A. Fitzpatrick, now of Omaha, whose eight 
years' administration is the longest yet recorded. Mr. John Cooper's term of four 
years, together with Mr. Kendall's of but a few months, brings us down to the elec- 
tion, in 1890, of Supt. J. E. Klock, the present incumbent. 

Drill in calisthenics, instruction in drawing and in vocal music are among the use- 
ful reforms introduced in the last two years. 

The first school was opened in N. Z. Strong's building, on the corner of Fifth and 
Shawnee streets. 

In the same year, 1858, rooms were secured in the home of Mr. Robertson, the 
teacher of the south district. 

By the next year, three buildings were needed, and to meet the demand, the board 
secured the Robertson dwelling referred to above, the Christian Church, on East 
Sixth street, and the office of the register of deeds, on the corner of Third and Dela- 
ware. 

This year, 1859, marks, also, the purchase of the Strong building, in which was 
opened a public German school, for the benefit of the large German element in the 



148 History of Education in Kansas. 

city. By the sale of this property, a few years later, a sufficient sum was realized to 
secure two comfortable brick buildings — our present Third Avenue and Osage 
schools, each inclosures of 90x130 feet. 

In 1864, two colored schools were opened, one in the north, the other in the south 
part of the city. 

The board made very material additions to the school property in 1865. It leased 
from the city, for the term of 50 years, a block known as the public square, and pur- 
chased a two-room frame building situated thereon. Within this square, the well- 
known Morris school building, a large brick structure, was erected two years later. 
Its cost is estimated at about $80,000. A brick church, on the corner of Oak and 
Seventh streets, was bought from the Westminster society and remodeled into a 
comfortable two-room building, which was used for nine years; then, in 1874, it was 
torn down, and on the adjoining property, which was purchased to enlarge the 
grounds, the present Oak Street building was erected, at a cost of $27,000. On 
South avenue and Prospect street, a schoolhouse, built for the use of colored chil- 
dren, was completed in 1866. No material additions were made to the school prop- 
erty for 12 years; then, in 1878, the site of the Grand Avenue school was purchased 
for $1,000, and a $4,000 brick structure was placed thereon. 

In 1885, the board secured an unfinished church, which has been remodeled into 
our present commodious high-school building. It contains a spacious auditorium, 
a laboratory, an office, halls, recitation and cloak rooms. At the present time it 
accommodates 250 pupils, with a capacity for a still greater number. The other 
buildings can seat about 3,500 pupils. 

The high school was organized in 1866, under Mr. H. D. McCarty, as principal. 
It was reorganized, under Miss L. A. Mead, the next year; and in 1871 sent forth 
four graduates —the first from a Kansas high school. 

The number of alumni grew very slowly for 10 years, after which time the classes 
steadily increased in numbers, attaining a maximum of 45 last year. 

Eminent among its many superior principals are, Mr. W. W. Grant, until recently 
principal of the high school of Indianapolis, Ind.; Mr. Geo. G. Ryan, now superin- 
tendent of schools in Paterson, N. J.; and Mr. W. A. Evans, for 15 years the head of 
the science department of the high school, a position which he still holds in connec- 
tion with his work as principal. 

Graduates from our four-years course of study are admitted, without examina- 
tion, into many of our best colleges, among which are the University of Michigan, 
the University of Kansas, and Wellesley. 

To our small but well-selected library, nearly 400 volumes have been added dur- 
ing the last two years. 

The facilities for experimental work in the sciences are better than high schools 
are usually provided with. President Angell, of the Michigan University, in a recent 
visit to the school, expressed great pleasure with the completeness of the science de- 
partment. 

The two well-organized literary societies do excellent work. With the receipts 
from two annual contests, they have purchased an excellent piano. 

The alumni association was organized in 1885. On its roll, at the present time, 
are nearly 400 loyal members, a large portion of whom welcome the graduating class 
at each annual banquet. 

The 12 years required to complete our course of study are equally divided 
amongst the primary, the grammar and the high-school departments. The school 
year consists of 36 weeks, and is divided into two terms. Promotions are made at 
the end of each term, and are based upon the pupils' record in class and in the 
monthly examinations. 



Lincoln Comity. 149 

The superintendent meets the teachers of the first, second, third and fourth 
grades on the respective first, second, third and fourth Mondays of each month. 
Likewise, the teachers of the four grammar grades meet on Thursdays. In these 
meetings the work for the coming month is outlined. 

At the end of the month, the examination questions are sent out by the superin- 
tendent. Thus, pupils in the same grade are taking the same examination through- 
out the city at the same time, and but two grades — one primary and one grammar 
— are examined the same week. 

The teachers' training class, a new department of our public-school system, is 
open to graduates of the high school. The two-years course of study includes the 
history and philosophy of education, psychology, methods of teaching, observing in 
the grades, and practice in teaching. For this work the student's entire time is 
required. Graduates of this department receive a preference over other applicants 
for positions in the public schools who manifest no higher qualifications. 

From this class, the board may select six members as supply teachers, at a salary 
of $50 per year. Those who substitute, after the salary of the regular teacher is 
withdrawn, receive $2 per day. 

In 1869, the State Legislature passed an act establishing a second normal school 
in the State. Among a host of rival cities, Leavenworth was the successful claimant. 
It was established in 1870, under P. J. Williams, A. M., as principal. After a few 
years, our lawmakers concluded that Kansas could not well support more than one 
normal school, and this one was abandoned, in order that a similar institution, estab- 
lished many years before at Emporia, might receive the support it so much needed. 

The teaching force of the city consists of 55 teachers, and the total expenditures 
for salaries in 1890 was $38,637. 



LINCOLN COUNTY.* 



The first thought of the pioneers of Lincoln county was for the education of 
their children, and the first school was taught in a dugout in Martin Hendrickson's 
dooryard, by a young man named Marion Ivy, in the year 1870. The first school 
district was organized the next year, by Washington Smith, county superintendent. 
There are now 85 districts, employing 94 teachers, and a school population of 3,600. 

The first school in the city of Lincoln Centre was taught by Mrs. Anna C. Wait, 
in 1872, in a room 14x20. As there were 30 pupils, and this room was kitchen, 
parlor, dining room and bedroom for the Wait family, we can easily credit the 
statement that "they were a little crowded." The school now enrolls 500 pupils, 
and employs seven teachers. A substantial building, heated by steam, has taken the 
place of the 14 x 20 room. The building, though comparatively a small one, is one 
of the best in the State. It is capable of seating 600, and cost, including the steam- 
heating apparatus, about $18,000. 

J. D. Miller, Ira W. Russell, C. T. Pickett, J. A. Schofield, N. Coover, S. V. Mal- 
lory, J. Sonnedecker, R. A. Hampshire and J. H. Ware have had charge of the school, 
in the order named. The latter has been in charge for eight years. 

The county superintendents have served in the following order: John Lyden, 
Washington Smith, J. H. Wright, J. P. Harman, A. T. Biggs, H. B. Harris, J. H. 
Allsworth, and A. T. Biggs. Mr. Allsworth served two terms and Mr. Biggs five. 
Mr. Smith was appointed to fill a vacancy caused by the refusal of John Harshbar- 
ger, who had been elected, to qualify. The superintendent elect is Horace Truman. 

By A. T. Biggs, county superintendent. 



150 History of Education in Kansas. 

The normal institutes have been held as follows: 



Mo. 


Yr. 


Aug. 


1877 


Aug. 


1878 


Aug. 


1879 


Aug. 


1880 


Aug. 


1881 


Aug. 


1882 


Aug. 


1883 


July 


1S84 


July 


1885 


July 


1886 


July 


1887 


July 


1888 


July 


1889 


July 


1890 


July 


1891 


July 


1892 



Conduotor. 



E. F. Robinson. 
E. F. Robinson. 
C. T. Pickett . . 



C. T. Pickett 
C. T. Pickett 
A. T. Biggs. . 



C. T. Pickett . . 

N. Coover 

N. Coover 

N. Coover 

A.V. Sparhawk 
A.V. Sparhawk 
C. T. Pickett . . 
A. T. Biggs. . . . 



A. T. Biggs. 
A. T. Biggs. 



Sal- 
ary. 



$100 

100 

75 

100 

100 



100 
85 
100 
100 
125 
90 
100 



Instructor, 



Salome Pierson . . . 

Anna C. Wait 

Anna C. Wait 

J. R. Burton* 

Rhoda L. Phillips . 

Anna C. Wait 

Anna C. Wait 

N. Coover 

Ella McGuire 

N. Coover 

W. W. McCullough 
R. A. Hampshire.. 

A. D. Gilpin 

A.. D. Gilpin 

A. D. Gilpin 

J. H. Ware 

J. H. Ware 

W. T. Clark 

H. B. Morrison 

J. H. Ware 

H. Truman 

C. H. Steele 

J. H. Ware 

H. Truman 

E. D. Smith 

A. Schuyler 



Sal- 
ary. 



$60 
50 
40 



50 
50 
50 
60 
75 
75 
75 
75 
90 
90 
125 
55 
50 
85 
60 



40 

30 

120 



County 
superintendent. 



T. Biggs. 
T. Biggs. 
T. Biggs. 

T. Biggs. 
T. Biggs. 
T. Biggs. 



H. B. Harris. 
H. B. Harris. 
J. H. Allsworth. 
J. H. Allsworth. 
J. H. Allsworth. 
J. H. Allsworth. 
A. T. Biggs. 
A. T. Biggs. 



A. T. Biggs. 



A. T. Biggs. 



*For one week. 

The attendance has .risen from 23, in 1877, to 155, in 1892. In 1877, the business 
and professional men of the town of Lincoln enrolled and paid the fee, in order to 
secure the $50 appropriation from the State. 

The phenomenally large attendance of the last year was largely due to the desire 
of the teachers to take lessons in mathematics and psychology under the veteran 
schoolmaster, Doctor Schuyler. 

Among the prominent teachers, may be mentioned John A. Schofield, a soldier 
in the War of the Rebellion, who has been constantly teaching since; Mrs. Anna C. 
Wait, who has taught about 200 weeks, in three or four different States, and, though 
not now teaching, takes an active interest in education, and the earnest, honest 
teacher finds in her a friend and counselor; Mrs. Susan S. Smith, who has been ac- 
tively engaged in teaching for 30 years, and who has long enjoyed the distinction of 
standing at or near the head of the class of first-class teachers; J. H. Ware, for the 
last eight years principal of the Lincoln Centre schools, who has had some 16 or 18 
years' experience in teaching, in addition to serving four years as county superin- 
tendent in Iowa. 

Mrs. Moss, the primary teacher in the Lincoln schools, is a veteran of some 18 
years experience, and one of the heaven-made variety. 

Horace Truman, the county superintendent elect, is a young man with brains, 
energy, and pure motives. He has taught in Lincoln county 15 years — tour years 
as assistant principal in Lincoln. The outgoing superintendent, and writer hereof, 
is a back number from before the war — a kind of relic of the fossiliferous age. His 
meager education was acquired studying by the light of pine knots, back among 
the hills of southeastern Ohio, where he began teaching 33 years ago, when 15 years 
of age. He attributes whatever of success he has attained in teaching, and in 10- 
years' superintendency, to his love for children and the work. 

One of the most serious hindrances to uniform success in the schools of this 
county is the present iniquitous method of taxation, whereby one district can main- 
tain a nine-months school with a 3-mill levy, while an adjoining district can only 
maintain a four-months school with a 20-mill levy. The State ought to be the unit 



Lyon County. 151 

• 

of taxation for school purposes. Among the drawbacks are the short tenure of 
office, and the very tender age of many of the teachers. Very young teachers some- 
times succeed. 

Kansas Christian College — The Kansas State Christian Conference, by reso- 
lution, passed October 20, 1882, instructed its board of trustees to locate and estab- 
lish a school in central Kansas. The propositions of different localities were not 
acted upon until January 31, 1884, when that of Lincoln, Lincoln county, Kansas, 
was accepted. The Lincoln College Building Association was then formed and char- 
tered, and the final contract between this association and the trustees of the Kansas 
State Christian Conference was signed March 24, 1884. 

By the terms of this contract, said association was to erect a suitable college 
building, at a cost of not less than $10,000, and when the Christian Conference raised 
an endowment equal in amount to the cost of the building, the college property was 
to be conveyed by deed to the conference. 

The erection of the building was begun in 1884, but, owing to financial depres- 
sion, the work proceeded slowly, and, in 1892, the building association tendered the 
State Conference the right and title of the property, which proposition was accepted; 
and thus the control of the property, as well as of the school, passed into thehands 
of the trustees of the college. 

The Hon. Thomas Bartlett was chosen first president of the college, and served 
until the close of the school year in 1891, when, owing to failing health, he resigned 

A preparatory school was begun in the Baptist Church in Lincoln, April 21, 1884, 
by Rev. Geo. Jenney. The college proper was opened in September of the same 
year, under the superintendence of President Bartlett. 

The building is a substantial stone structure, and, when completed, will accom- 
modate about 150 students. 



LYON COUNTY. 



No history of the schools of this county was prepared by the proper officer. 
The following sketch of Emporia schools, its largest city, was written by 
Supt. Wm. Keece. 

Emporia Schools. — Emporia is a city of about 15,000 inhabitants, and is sit- 
uated on a picturesque peninsula, between the Neosho and Cottonwood rivers, six 
miles from their junction. The sagacious early settlers of Lyon county saw the 
natural advantages of this location. They perceived what a splendid inlet and out- 
let for railroads the valleys of these rivers made, and knew that somewhere near 
their junction the future metropolis of the county, and of central Kansas, must be 
located. 

The town of Emporia was located in February, 1857, its proprietors being P. 
B. Plumb, of Emporia, and Gen. G. W. Deitzler, G. W. Brown, Lyman Allen, and 
Columbus Hornsby, of Lawrence. Emporia was first incorporated as a village 
February 6, 1865. In April, 1870, it was created under the laws of the State a city 
of the second class. Col. H. C. Cross was the first mayor. R. M. Overstreet was the 
first president of the board of education. Prof. P. J. Carmichael was elected super- 
intendent of city schools, which office he held two years, and was succeeded by 
Robert Milliken, now professor in the Idaho Agricultural College. In August, 1877, 
John A. Reynolds was elected to the office for two years. In 1880, P. J. Carmichael 
was elected again, and served as superintendent for five years. In 1885, J. E. Klock 



152 History of Education in Kansas. 

was elected as superintendent, and served in that capacity until December, 1890, 
when he was chosen to superintend the Leavenworth schools, and William Reece, 
who was in his fifth year as superintendent of Great Bend schools, was selected to 
take charge of Emporia city schools. 

The Emporia schools have always been regarded as taking high rank amongst 
the city systems of schools in the State of Kansas, and few cities have done more 
bo shape the educational policy of the State than has Emporia. Supplementary 
reading, reading circles, sketching from nature, industrial work and harmony are 
prominent features in the Emporia schools. The industrial work develops habits of 
close observation, leads to a knowledge of the nature and uses of different material, 
shortens the hours of idleness, weakens the influence of evil associations, gives aim 
to the aimless, tact to the shiftless, attention to the heedless, frugality to the spend- 
thrift, industry to the idle, and thoughtful activity to all. The educational value is 
greater than is sloyd work, as the pupil himself must determine what he can make 
with the material and tools within his reach. The products will not have machine 
accuracy and polish, but the observation, tact and resources of the pupil will be 
more fully developed. When pupils read, they stand in front of the class and read 
to the school, looking from the book, as public lecturers. The Ormsby or polyconic 
system of map drawing is another prominent feature in these schools. Practical 
fractions are commenced in the second grade, and third- and fourth-grade pupils 
are quite familiar with the elementary principles in decimal fractions and percent- 
age. Harmony is successfully taught, even in the primary grades. The pupils of a 
grade sing one, two, three, or four parts, as the teacher may direct. The teacher, or 
even a stranger, may sing the numbers of the scale through several measures, and 
the pupils will give the same numbers, with names of the notes. They can also sing 
from hand signs, and can readily reproduce the tone of a piano string. 

Emporia was one of the first cities in Kansas to place national flags over the school 
buildings. Every school building in the city has a large, beautiful bunting flag. There 
are eight school buildings and one church building used for school purposes. The 
school buildings and grounds cost about $80,000, and the furniture cost about $10,000. 
The high school has a well-equipped laboratory and a library of over 800 volumes, 
about half of which has been procured within the last two years. Within the last 
two years, a considerable amount of supplementary reading matter and other valu- 
able aids have been placed in the primary and grammar grades. Occasional con- 
tests are held in spelling, number work, reading, speaking, singing, writing, etc. 
At a Columbian entertainment, given October 21, 1892, over $350 was raised for 
exhibit fund. 

Below will be found brief histories of the different superintendents who have 
had charge of Emporia city schools: m 

Supt. P. J. Carmichael was born March 15, 1836, in Livingston county, N. Y. Re- 
ceived an academic and partial college course of education at Brockport Collegiate 
Institute, N. Y.; taught in schools of New York State from 1855 to 1869; then re- 
moved to Kansas, locating at Leavenworth, where for two years he remained, as 
principal of the high school; accepted the superintendency of the Emporia city 
schools, in 1871, and reorganized and graded these schools. He was superintendent 
two years; then, for three years held the professorship of mathematics in the State 
Normal School. After a residence of four years in California and Ohio, he returned 
to Emporia, in the fall of 1880, and reassumed the position of superintendent of 
schools. 

Robert Milliken resigned the county surveyorship to take charge of the city 
schools, as superintendent, in 1875. He continued to hold this position until 1877. 

He is at present county surveyor of Lyon county. 



Marion County. 153 

Supt. Buel T. Davis was born in Macon county, Illinois, July 30, 1852; educated 
in the public schools of Decatur, and was within three months' time of completing 
the course in the Decatur high school when he removed to Kansas in the spring of 
1871, located at Junction City, and taught in the schools of Davis (now Geary) 
county for two terms. In 1872, he resumed his studies, attending, successive^ the 
Kansas Agricultural College, the Kansas State Normal School, and the Aurora (111.) 
Normal School. From the last-named institution, he was graduated in 1875, and 
from the Kansas State Normal in 1876. In 1876-77, he was principal of the schools 
at Chetopa, Kas.; then for two years he held the position of superintendent of the 
schools of Emporia. In January, 1880, he accepted the chair of director in training 
and gymnastics in the Kansas State Normal School, and held the two offices until the 
expiration of his term as superintendent of the Emporia schools. 

James E. Klock was born March 27, 1855, in Wyoming county, New York. In 
the fall of 1871 he came to Kansas, locating at Emporia, and was graduated from the 
Kansas State Normal School in 1875. He taught school at Neosho Rapids for about 
five years, and in 1881 was appointed to the position of principal of the Emporia 
high school. He held that position until the fall of 1882, when he was elected superin- 
tendent of public instruction for Lyon county. In 1884, he was reelected, but some 
months after resigned, to accept the position of superintendent of the Emporia 
schools, which position he held until his election to the superintendency of Leaven- 
worth city schools, in 1890. 

William Reece was born in Baltimore, Ohio, September 4, 1838. He was edu- 
cated in the district schools of Ohio, Carpenter's Academy, and at the Ohio Wes- 
leyan University. He was superintendent of the Jamestown, Ohio, city schools 11 
years, and was assistant principal and teacher of higher mathematics and natural 
science in the Springfield (Ohio) high school, four years. In September, 1886, he 
took charge of the Great Bend, Kas., schools, and remained there as superintendent 
until elected to succeed Superintendent Klock, who had been called to Leavenworth. 

Superintendent Reece will be succeeded in the autumn of 1893 by John Dietrich, 
who was principal of Emporia high school for two years. 



MARION COUNTY.* 



It is a noteworthy fact that, whatever the early settlers of Kansas lacked in cul- 
ture and education, they were alive to the value of such training, and, upon their 
arrival, sought at once to provide for their children those school facilities which had 
been denied them in their childhood. Thus it was that almost the first building 
erected in this new land was the schoolhouse. It could be and was used for school, 
church services, neighborhood meetings, and for all other gatherings of a public na- 
ture. Marion county was in no particular essentially different from other counties 
of the State. The same spirit manifested itself here as elsewhere; and the imposing 
school edifices of the cities, and the roomy, substantial schoolhouses of the country 
districts, stand as monuments to the educational enterprise of the people of Marion 
county. 

The first school ever taught in Marion county was presided over by Dr. J. N. 
Rogers, of this city. The building, which was situated opposite what is known as 
the William Brumbaugh place, had been erected especially for school purposes. 
Pupils came from the surrounding counties, and some even from Texas. The en- 
rollment reached 36. All this was in the winter of 1865-66, before the organization 

By B. D. Van Ostkand, county superintendent of schools. 



154 History of Education in Kansas. 

of any school district within the boundaries of the county. The data of the organi- 
zation of the first school district and of the first school election are not at hand, 
but it must have been at an early date in the settlement of the county, for school 
district No. 1, which now comprises the city of Marion and adjacent territory, em- 
braced at one time the whole county, an area of more than 1,000 square miles. In 
quick succession there followed the organization of district No. 2, known at present 
as the Antelope district; then Nos. 3 and 4, the former a few miles east of Flor- 
ence and the latter at Florence, divided the honors with Marion and vicinity, and 
obtained their due proportion of the school funds. For a long time the districts in 
the eastern, southern and extreme southwestern portions of the county derived rev- 
enue from the unoccupied western and northern portions; but now, with the excep- 
tion of the Scully tract of land, in the northwestern part, the whole county is divided 
up into school districts of convenient size. 

There are now in Marion county 120 organized school districts, and 126 school 
buildings are located in these districts; 153 rooms are needed to accommodate the 
school children, and in these rooms 153 teachers look after the educational interests 
of the coming men and women of Marion county. The total school population is 
7,758, 5,910 of whom were enrolled in the different schools between the 1st day of 
October, 1891, and the 1st day of October, 1892. Of this number, 3,152 were males? 
and 2,758 were females. The average daily attendance during the same period was 
3,885. 

Every district in the county sustained the legal four-months term of school dur- 
ing the past year, and the average length of the school term was 25 t 3 q weeks, or 
nearly 6i months. The amount of money raised for school purposes from July 1, 
1891, to July 1, 1892, reached the sum of $80,848.07; the amount expended during 
the same period of time was $68,225.28, leaving on hand a balance of $12,622.79, 
with which to begin a new year. To obtain this sum, a tax levy of 12f mills was 
made — a small sum, when there is taken into consideration the unsettled and prac- 
tically nontaxable sections of land, and the unavoidable expense that attends the 
upbuilding and maintenance of school systems in new States. But with school 
property of the valuation of $160,000, and a bonded indebtedness of only one-fourth 
that amount, and that indebtedness, too, rapidly diminishing, the amount of the levy 
will continually decrease, without detriment to the schools, for the better cultivation 
of the already settled portions of the county and the opening up and development 
of new lands will greatly increase the valuation of taxable property. 

The wages paid Marion county teachers are higher than in the majority of coun- 
ties in Kansas. The average salary per month of male teachers is nearly $52; that 
of female teachers is nearly $40. Outside of the city schools, where male teachers, 
acting in the capacity of superintendents or principals, receive comparatively large 
salaries, sex cuts little, if any, figure in the wages paid in the same grade of work. 

The first person to fill the office of school superintendent in Marion county was 
Levi Billings, a well-known and enterprising citizen. He served one term, and was 
followed by W. S. Moulton, who looked after the school interests of the county for 
another two years. Then came Dr. J. N. Rogers, who held the position for four 
years. Next, J. F. Rockafield, deputy superintendent under Doctor Rogers, suc- 
ceeded to the position, which he held for one term. Following him came the first 
and only lady superintendent the county has ever had, Mrs. J. M. Sharon, who 
formed many new districts during her four years of office. David Harrison, now a 
resident of Wilson township, one term; John Madden, now a leading lawyer of Chase 
county, one term; W. B. Zercher, now principal of the Lost Springs schools, three 
terms; and the writer, for two terms, complete the list of those who have super- 
vised the educational interests of Marion county from its organization to the pres- 



Marion County. 155 

ent time. This review of the schools would not be complete without a tribute to 
the wide-awake, progressive spirit shown by the teachers of this county in the for- 
mation of the Marion County Teachers' Association, which meets quarterly during 
the year at Marion, Peabody, Florence, and Hillsboro, in rotation. The president of 
the association is B. C. Hastings, principal of the Florence schools. There has re- 
cently been formed a local branch of the Kansas teachers' reading circle, which, in 
connection with the four-weeks normal institute held annually at Marion, provides 
for the teachers, at small expense, that professional training which aids so much in 
the improvement of our schools. 

City Schools. — The city schools of Marion county are Marion (the county seat), 
Peabody, Florence, and Hillsboro. Other village schools are Lehigh, Burns, Lin- 
colnville, Lost Springs, Tampa, Durham, Ramona, Aulne, and Canada. Marion and 
Peabody are the largest schools in the county. Both have high-school departments 
that fully prepare students for our three State educational institutions — the State 
University, at Lawrence; the State Agricultural College, at Manhattan; and the 
State Normal School, at Emporia. The number of teachers employed in the Marion 
schools the past year was 11; in Peabody, 10; in Florence, 7; in Hillsboro, 4; in Le- 
high, 3; and in all others, 1 or more. 

Marion being a city of the second class, the schools are under special jurisdiction 
and supervision, consisting of the board of education of 10 members and a city su- 
perintendent. As the largest school in the county in point of pupils enrolled and 
teachers employed, the following history of its organization and growth will not be 
out of place: 

The first schoolhouse, a substantial stone structure of four study rooms and four 
recitation rooms, was erected, on a commanding site overlooking the town, in 1873. 
The building is still standing, and forms a part of the present commodious high- 
school building. The first principal of the schools was Thomas M. Potter, who for 
two years strove to advance the educational interests of the city. He laid well the 
foundation, and, refusing a reelection to the principalship, retired to a farm. He 
was followed by T. A. Bogle, who for five years looked after the development of the 
schools with fidelity. Mr. Bogle afterwards served as county superintendent of pub- 
lic instruction for two years, and for four more years as county attorney. Mr. Bogle 
is now a leading lawyer in Ann Arbor, Mich. At the close of his service, William Bogle, 
his brother, was superintendent for one year. This Mr. Bogle afterward studied medi- 
cine, and is now a leading physician of Atchison, Kas. G. A. Boyle succeeded Doctor 
Bogle, in a term of one year. He is still teaching in Kansas. Then came E. M. Don- 
aldson, who for two years labored industriously and unceasingly to promote school 
interests in city and county. During his principalship, a fine four- story stone struc- 
ture was erected in the valley, to accommodate the large number of children living 
at a distance from the hill. These two buildings, with a one-room building, also of 
stone, one mile west of the corporation limits, furnished sufficient school facilities 
until 1889, when the original house was remodeled and enlarged into the present 
high-school building. For three years following Mr. Donaldson, the author of this 
sketch, endeavored to the best of his ability to guide the stream of knowledge into 
its proper channels, and to provide seating facilities for the large increase in pupils, 
due to the rapid growth of the city. In 1886 and 1887, the total enrollment was 732, 
the highest number ever reached in the history of the school. Succeeding him, came 
D. W. DeLay, a veteran in this field of labor, who for four years has carefully watched 
and promoted the educational interests of the city. 



156 History of Education in Kansas. 



MCPHERSON COUNTY.* 

In the course of the dealings of Providence with the schools of our well-beloved 
county, many records of some historical importance have been lost and forgotten — 
nothing save the moral effect, which will last forever, is now felt. In order to res- 
cue from total oblivion many more such valuable facts and data, the author has 
herein attempted to collect and preserve them for future use and reference. 

This should not be an attempt to criticise or praise any of the matters of fact, 
which are merely recorded in chronological order and in narrative style. It should 
be remembered by all that the early records of the office of county superintendent 
are very incomplete and defective, and that anything like a complete statement of 
names will be impossible at this late day. Our school system has enjoyed a steady 
growth since its inception, and this it is that ought to be carefully traced. 

Imagine, if possible, a log shanty 18 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 7 feet high, with 
a nearly flat roof, through which protrudes a piece of rusty stovepipe. See those two 
single six-pane windows on either side. Observe the cracks daubed with mud and 
the yard of buffalo grass, and you will have some idea of the very first public build- 
ing in the county. It was the schoolhouse in No. 1. No sooner was any vicinity 
settled than a district was carved out, and some kind of a place to school the chil- 
dren was provided. The chronological order of settlement may be accurately traced 
by the numbers of the school districts. The records of these districts reveal a fruit- 
ful story. 'T is this story which I shall attempt to narrate in the following pages as 
fully as the records will permit. 

In May, 1870, when there were fully 100 children of school age in the county, a 
Swedish minister of the Lutheran Church at Lindsborg was appointed county super- 
intendent. He is now president of Augustana College, Rock Island, 111. A learned 
man, a true minister and an earnest worker was Rev. Olof Olsson, the first superin- 
tendent of McPherson county schools. He was elected for two years, in September, 
1870, but in 1871 the people sent him to the Legislature, and Mr. John Connor was 
appointed to fill the vacancy. It was soon discovered that Mr. Connor was holding 
the office of county surveyor in Ellsworth county, and was teaching school in Saline 
county, and he was asked to resign. Mr. Philip Wickersham, of Roxbury, was ap- 
pointed in his stead January 1, 1872. 

Mr. Olsson organized the first eight districts, as follows: Nos. 1 and 2, in Gyp- 
sum Creek valley; Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6, in Smoky Hill valley; and Nos. 7 and 8, in 
Sharp's Creek valley — all located in the northern part of the county. Mr. Connor 
organized No. 9, northeast of Lindsborg. These were all very large districts, mod- 
eled without the least suspicion that there would be a future, and that order was na- 
ture's first law. Taxable railroad lands and private contributions were the sources 
of financial support. There is no record left by either of these gentlemen to show 
that they ever made any real effort to visit schools or to supervise the work of the 
teachers. It seems there were but few school laws until 1876, for every man obeyed 
the laws of the State from whence he came. 

Ex-Saperintendent Wickersham is still an honored citizen of McPherson. His 
entire time mast have been occupied with the organizing, bond voting, site locating 
and boundary changing of the rapidly-settling county. He records that 73 districts 
were organized by him in five years. He deserves a pension. Under Mr. Wicker- 
sham, nearly the entire area of the county was included in the. 82 school districts. 
Later and higher numbers are but subdivisions of the older districts. 



*By H. E. Bkuce, county superintendent. 



McPherson County. 157 

M. P. Simpson and Mrs. Mattie Murphy were members of Superintendent Wick- 
ersham's examining board. Perhaps the first regular certificate ever issued in the 
county was signed by Philip Wickersham, March 30, 1872. It was issued to Barbara 
Wynn, of Lindsborg, and was good for six months. Her grades were as follows: 
Spelling, 8; reading, 7; writing, 8; geography 7; grammar, 7; arithmetic, 7. It was 
called a second grade. C. W. Banks appears to have received the first first grade, in 
October, 1872, valid one year. His average on the six branches required was 80 per 
cent. Many certificates were issued with averages of 50 and 60 per cent. Salaries 
were $25 and $35 per month. Schools were formally visited occasionally by the 
superintendent; a kind of county association was held; no normal institutes were 
heard of; and examinations for certificates were very irregular. Superintendent 
Wickersham served five years, and started the first record books in the office. He 
attempted to organize districts so that they might be divided in the future and form 
two or three good districts. His work was more of a legal character than of a pro- 
fessional one. 

Mrs. Mattie Murphy, wife of Dr. W. W. Murphy, became superintendent in 1877. 
She is now one of our leading members of society in the county seat. Twenty dis- 
tricts were organized by her during the four years she served. These were located 
in various parts of the county. In 1880, she edited six numbers of the McPherson 
County School Journal, which contained essays by pupils, teachers and superintend- 
ent on school matters. In one editorial we find these words: "Though feeling a 
just pride in our schools, I do not overlook their defects, nor consider them trifling, 
but hope and believe that the time is not far distant when McPherson will be the 
banner county in the State, so far as her educational standing is concerned." This 
was written 12 years ago. Her work at organization and increased qualification on 
the part of teachers is still remembered, and its influence is still potent for good. 
None can successfully deny that the only lady superintendent the county has ever 
had began to lay the foundation for a system of educational advancement and power 
which has developed until no other county can excel it. 

Superintendent Murphy's assistant examiners were: M. P. Simpson and E. C. 
Minton, first term; C. W. Vittum and M. M. Carter, second term. "As is the teacher 
so is the school," is a fact which constrains the author to be somewhat minute upon 
the qualifications of teachers. Mrs. Murphy's first "A-grade" certificate was issued 
to Mr. E. C. Minton, in August, 1877, with an average of 90 on the following branches: 
Orthography, reading, penmanship, geography, map drawing, arithmetic, grammar, 
history, constitution, physiology, music, theory and practice, bookkeeping, indus- 
trial drawing, botany, entomology, geology, and neatness of penmanship — 18 sub- 
jects. The certificate was valid for two years. 

The first normal institute was held in 1877, with S. B. Zimmerman as conductor. 
The enrollment was 60. Miss Jennie McKinstry, Mrs. Perine and E. L. Loomis were 
instructors. Mrs. Murphy's last institute, conducted by R. S. lies, was a six-weeks 
term, with special academic work for A-grade teachers. Her work was largely pro- 
fessional. 

January, 1881, found Mr. John A. Myers in the superintendent's chair. At the 
expiration of his term, in 1885, he became one of our leading business men. He 
moved to Joplin, Mo., in 1891. Twelve districts were organized by him. Innumer 
able boundary changes and the examination of teachers harrassed his peace of mind 
His assistant examiners were Cyrus Cook, Miss Millie Hodges, Mrs. S. M. Whitzel 
and Prof. E. W. Hulse. Examinations were held frequently, and three grades of cer- 
tificates were granted: First grade, valid for two years; minimum 70, maximum 90 
no theory and practice of teaching. Second grade, one year; minimum 60, maxi- 
mum 80; no theory, physiology, bookkeeping, or physics. Third grade, six months 



158 History of Education in Kansas. 

not less than 16 years of age; minimum 55, maximum 70; branches — spelling, read- 
ing, writing, grammar, history, geography, and arithmetic. Forty-five of the above 
first grades were issued in four years. The board asked all the questions. It would 
seem needless to remark that there is a very considerable difference between the 
questions propounded by the State Board now and those asked by the county boards 
in the halcyon days of yore. 

Superintendent Myers supplied his office with a complete set of record books, 
and hence few records can be found prior to his term, except in manuscript form. 
There is one volume on district boundaries, kept since 1870, but of recent years it is 
very unreliable, owing to carelessness in keeping it. School visitation was made 
one of the special duties of the superintendent by Mr. Myers, and his records show 
that he canvassed the county annually. 

Superintendent Myers was very fortunate in selecting good normal conductors 
and instructors, and in imbuing his teachers with higher moral and professional 
ideals. Many of the leading teachers of the county to-day began their pedagogic 
career under his supervision. His normal enrollment was large, and teachers' sala- 
ries gradually increased. The schools were left in a most prosperous condition for 
his successor. 

Charles W. Vittum was elected county superintendent in 1884, and took the oath 
of office in January, 1885. Mr. Vittum is one of our business men at present. He 
organized four districts, bringing the number up to 118. He made the normal in- 
stitute a powerful auxiliary in the training of his teachers. The county teachers' 
association, as far as numbers and enthusiasm were concerned, was a failure, mainly 
for lack of an interested leader. The school-land business, the organization of 
new districts, the settlement of legal questions, the preparing of examination ques- 
tions, the changing of boundary lines, and such other routine work, almost disap- 
peared in this administration. The superintendent devoted his time largely to a 
systematic overhauling of the schools perse. Two days each week sufficed to attend 
to all office work, and the superintendent was thus given opportunity to visit, to 
observe, to plan, and to execute; all in the direct interest of solid, systematic school 
supervision. 

In 1885, the State Board began to formulate all questions for teachers' examina- 
tions. The present legal requirements obtained for first- and second-grade certifi- 
cates. Third-grade certificates required nine branches, with a minimum of 60 and 
an average of 70 per cent. Applicants must be 16 years of age. Under the new 
law, many experienced teachers, who formerly held the best certificates, could ob- 
tain none save third grades. It was a sweeping change. Immediately teachers 
became students, and the effect of the new order of things was felt to the utmost 
bounds of the county, in every schoolroom. I. N. McCash and R. M. Conklin, A. 
Chatterton and I. G. Law, were assistant examiners for Mr. Vittum. Alvin Chatter- 
ton secured No. 1 of the first grades issued under the new regime, with an average 
of 96 per cent. C. M. Enns also secured the same average, followed by the author 
of these lines, who had taught but seven months and hence could not legally receive 
the certificate he had won. Miss Lyda Chatterton and Miss Sue Griffith have the 
honor of being the first ladies to hold such certificates. There were 18 issued by 
Superintendent Vittum. 

In the latter part of his second term, with the financial aid of the county and the 
moral support of leading educators, he secured the adoption and successful intro- 
duction into nearly every schoolroom of Welch's common-school system of grada- 
tion and his classification record. Before the use of these progressive measures, no 
teacher had any definite aim or end in view. Each term forced pupils to begin each 
book anew. To complete a branch was to become the special comment in the dis- 



McPherson County. 159 

trict. Uniformity of work between schools was unknown. Pupils were not required 
to study any regular number of subjects. Having no objective point to strive to 
attain, they naturally became seriously affected with mental ennui. One month of 
each term, where teachers changed schools — and changes were often as frequent as 
semi-annual — was absolutely fruitless in its results. In the light of present attain- 
ments, our schools were in a state of chaos — so unlike the State of Kansas. 

Under the inspiration of this wise system of gradation and classification, which 
is constantry developing into a more perfect organization, each pupil has a true in- 
centive to labor and to advance. It is called promotion from grade to grade, and 
finally graduation, with a county diploma. Teachers, as well as pupils, labor intelli- 
gently and progressively. A new teacher is guided by the record left by his predeces- 
sor, and good work may be accomplished without loss of time or energy. This is 
system. It will be understood that the success attained now is the result of growth 
since 1888, and that pupils are growing into gradation gradually. The system has 
been a powerful agency, incidentally, in raising the percentum of enrollment and 
attendance. 

For the introduction of this system, Charles W. Vittum will be remembered and 
congratulated by the pupils, teachers and officers of the county. Its present fruits 
are very satisfactory and encouraging; and its future, who can portray? 

Mr. Alvin Chatterton became superintendent in 1889. Coffey county is now the 
place of his habitation, where he still pursues his profession. He organized district 
No. 119, and made no changes in the qualifications required for certificates. He 
pushed the classification and grading of the schools with indefatigable perseverance 
and energy. His school-visitation record was far in advance of his predecessors, 
and he had the honor of having the most largely attended normal institute on rec- 
ord for McPherson county — 221 enrolled. 

In 1889, a new constitution was adopted by the teachers' association, and H. E # 
Bruce was elected its first president. Under his energetic management the organi- 
zation began to assume successful appearances in attendance and enthusiastic dis- 
cussions, Superintendent Chatterton always being present and taking part in the 
exercises — a good departure from former precedent. S. L. Armstrong became its 
second president, followed by R. N. McConnell, and then by E. M. Rider, who is now 
in charge. District associations were first organized by Mr. Chatterton. They were 
fairly successful from the start. 

I. G. Law, E. W. Myler, H. E. Bruce, J. J. Caldwell and H. J. Duvall served at dif- 
ferent times as associate examiners. Thirteen first-grade certificates were issued, 
and scores of progressive teachers became earnest aspirants for the high honor. The 
graduation of pupils from the district schools having assumed gigantic proportions, 
the superintendent introduced a graduates' examination and a series of separate 
commencement exercises, all of which were executed with very gratifying results. 

Mr. Chatterton will be remembered for the advanced ground he took in regard 
to two matters of vital importance affecting our school system. It was mainly ow- 
ing to his advice and guidance that the people were induced to adopt county uni- 
formity of text-books. Formerly there were many series in use. Those children 
whose parents moved frequently were compelled to use old books or as often pur- 
chase new ones. Teachers changing schools must needs become acquainted with 
the arrangement and ideas of many widely different authors before they could teach 
successfully. Cost of books at retail was exorbitant. Many series were 20 years 
old. Often one class would use several different authors. All these gross evils were 
remedied at a single stroke by county uniformity. 

Our teachers soon knew each book thoroughly, and the uniform grading of 
schools was better accomplished. The books adopted by a committee of leading 



160 



History of Education in Kansas. 



citizens and teachers are as follows: New National Readers, Ray's Mathematics, 
Reed A* Kellogg's Language, Hutchinson's Physiologies, Reed's Word Lessons, 
Spencerian Penmanship, Eclectic History, Butler's Geographies, and Young's Con- 
stitution. Retail prices were lowered. Through the efforts of the superintendent, 
each district was donated a reading chart and a writing chart — a nucleus for a com- 
plete set of apparatus. The above books were adopted for five years, beginning 
January 1, 1891. 

The second line of special effort on the part of Superintendent Chatterton was 
an endeavor to obey the law as regards educational lectures. He held many public 
evening meetings, at which the entire neighborhood gathered. The children and 
the teachers rendered a short program, and the superintendent delivered a lecture 
upon one of various topics, such as school law, keeping records, duties of the 
county superintendent, duties of officers and parents, explanations of methods now 
in use. These meetings soon proved a wonderful aid in awakening an interest in 
school affairs. It may be worthy of remark that no superintendent in the future 
can afford to omit this part of the work. It offers an inviting field for a very useful 
sort of "university extension" among the common people. Superintendent Chat- 
terton edited a useful and effective educational column in the McPherson Republican 
for two years. He retired with the schools in excellent operation, after making a 
record which many taxpayers will partially fail to appreciate, and therefore give 
him credit for. His administration was a decided success in many important par- 
ticulars. 

The second Monday"of January, 1891, the author of this sketch began the labori- 
ous task of supervising the rapidly-developing schools of the county. His admin- 
istration was made a novelty in numerous respects. New exigencies demanded 
new methods of treatment. His work was almost entirely professional in its nature. 
He organized two new districts and made several minor changes in district bound- 
aries. His assistant examiners were: J. J. Caldwell, H. J. Duvall, and E. M. Rider. 
They issued 26 first-grade certificates, and raised the standard until no other county 
requires more of its teachers. A full single examination is now necessary. Study 
this table of legal requirements for certificates in McPherson county: 



Grade of certificates, 1891. 



Age must be over 

Months must have been taught 
Number branches must take. . . 

Must not fall below 

Must average at least 

Number years valid 



Third. 


Second. 


17 


17 





3 


9 


10 


60 


60 


75 


80 


1 


2 



First. 



A more complete grading of the country schools was vigorously advocated, and 
many new schemes were introduced successfully to increase the attendance and regu- 
larity of pupils. It might be well to refer to the system of monthly reports from 
teachers. The school reports of the entire county, containing enrollment, average 
attendance, cases of tardiness, number of visitors, and names of pupils neither ab- 
sent nor tardy, were received by the superintendent and published each month. 
The reader will at once observe what a powerful incentive was thus offered to teach- 
ers and pupils to excel in these vital matters. The medium of intercommunication 
referred to above was called Our Organizer, a three-column monthly folio, issued ten 
times in each year, with the county superintendent as editor. Two complete volumes 
of this school paper were issued, and it would seem superfluous at this time to add 
that no other single contrivance ever employed by a superintendent accomplished 
more satisfactory results in so short a period of time. The 121 districts, the 200 



MePherson County. 161 

licensed teachers, the 370 school officers, the 8,000 school children and the host of 
parents and patrons of the district schools were brought into a closer acquaintance 
and into an army of co-laborers by this single agency. Every conceivable item of 
common interest, official and otherwise, was boldly discussed in its columns. Its 
circulation at one time was 3,000 copies, and its influence was felt everywhere. 

Superintendent Bruce conducted his own normal institutes, and was, with a sin- 
gle exception, always assisted by home talent. Prof. A. Ludlum, Pres. S. Z. Sharp 
and Mrs. M. A. Ludlum were instructors. The institute was held in June each year, 
the last one being a five-weeks term. Attendance was rewarded by giving teachers 
normal recommendations asking school officers to give the holders preference. 

A school calendar was successfully used, and school boards required to report the 
proceedings of the annual meeting in regard to teachers immediately, thus aiding 
teachers in seeking employment. Teachers' association programs were issued in 
pamphlet form, giving the work of the entire year, together with much useful in- 
formation. Rarely did an association convene with less than 100 in attendance. 
District institutes were continued, the county being divided into from five to seven 
districts, each one having a regular organization. 

Common-school graduates were required to pass three examinations — one in 
December, one in February, and one in April. The standard was thus materially 
raised. The grades required were 60 and 75 per cent, on the final examination. 
The questions were all prepared by the superintendent, and the manuscripts graded 
by a special committee of eight teachers. Commencement exercises were held dur- 
ing May in various village and rural districts, the county superintendent always 
presenting the diplomas. During this term, the superintendent's office was supplied 
with an improved set of blank forms in nearly every department of the work, spe- 
cially prepared by the author. These new forms will be used for years to come. 

The Kansas teachers' reading circle was an object of especial favor and solici- 
tude on the part of the superintendent and the leading teachers. It is a two-book 
course, and requires no admission fee. The books were purchased by teachers, 
through the superintendent, read and discussed at teachers' meetings, and an ex- 
amination held therein during the county normal. Barnes's General History and 
Page's Theory and Practice were the first set, and Hawthorne's American Literature 
and Compayre's Lectures on Teaching, the second set. The circle was a grand suc- 
cess, having 115 members the first year, and about the same number the second 
year. It bids fair to prosper in the future. 

Mr. Bruce made the banner record on school visitation and number of lectures 
delivered. He made nearly 300 visits in two years, and delivered to schools, associa- 
tions and educational meetings over 230 lectures, ranging from 10-minute talks to 
two-hour speeches on dozens of subjects of special interest and importance to the 
schools. School laws were distributed to every board in the county as the schools 
were visited, and common-school diplomas were presented to 132 graduates. He 
was the first superintendent of the county to hold a State certificate, which he se- 
cured while in office. 

The author was succeeded January 9, 1893, by Mr. I. G. Law, a cultured and con- 
servative gentleman, old in the profession and thoroughly identified with the schools 
of the county. He will undoubtedly make the next chapter of our county's school 
history interesting. Our teachers, officers, patrons and taxpayers will permit no re- 
trogression in school matters. They will "upward still and onward to keep abreast 
of truth" in all matters pertaining to the education of our youth. The most charm- 
ing and significant chapters of the educational history of this county are yet to be 
recorded. These pages, by the way of prediction, are but the beginning of a fruitful 
future. 

—11 



162 



History of Education in Kansas. 



It is barely possible that a condensed summary of what the schools now possess 
and are, will be of historic value some day. 

Our schools are a little over 22 years old. There are now 122 school buildings, 
most of which are provided with proper apparatus. The value of school property 
is estimated at $173,000. The last census showed nearly 8,000 school children. 
There are 150 teachers employed. The sum of $60,000 is spent annually to support 
the public schools, or about $10 per pupil enrolled. The following table will reveal 
something interesting. The general record of each superintendent is reported: 



SUPEKINTENDENTS. 


Year. 


Per cent. 

pupils 
enrolled. 


Average 
per cent, 
attendee. 


Teachers 
employed. 


Average 
salary. 


School 
term, in 
weeks. 


Diplomas 
gr inted. 




1870 

1873 
1878 
1882 
1888 
1890 
1892 


21 
58 
61 
67 
72 
74 
78 


32 
42 
51 
54 
64 
67 
73 


2 
19 
91 
116 
137 
144 
150 


$28 
32 
28 
30 
44 
41 
43 


12 
16 
18 
20 
24 
25 
26 




P. Wickershani 












C. W. Vittum 


12 1 




88 


H. E. Bruce 


132 







God grant that the schools may continue to develop in the direction indicated 
by the figures in this table. 

With our system of close supervision, county uniformity of text-books, and edu- 
cational lectures, who will dare to deny that progress is inevitable? Citizens have a 
fair understanding of school law, teachers will compare favorably in culture, ability 
and experience with their colaborers in the profession, their moral example is su- 
perior, schoolrooms are being transformed from the public house into the parlor, 
and supplied with every comfort and necessity, libraries are becoming fashionable, 
visitation has enormously increased, records are being kept better than ever before, 
annual meetings are more numerously attended, few schools take pride in maintain- 
ing an old reputation for general wickedness, good lyoeums are common, many 
teachers are retained indefinitely, school terms are regulated as to time of closing, 
there are a few more teachers than schools, true incentives abound, teachers' meet- 
ings are enthusiastic and profitable, the normal-institute season is the gladdest of 
the year, and it is devoutly hoped that teaching will speedily be recognized as a 
profession, and that teachers will rank in society, politics and business with lawyers, 
physicians, dentists, and ministers of the gospel. 

McPherson City Schools — The following data are kindly furnished by Supt. 
Addison Ludlum, one of the best educational workers the county ever had. The 
normal and the association are fields where he has sown the best of seed. The influ- 
ence of his mind and enthusiasm is felt in every school. He has made McPherson 
city schools, the State over, synonymous with advanced ideas and methods. 

The city schools have passed through the different phases of growth incident to 
a new country. The beginnings were, of course, humble. One room on Main street, 
near the post office, was first used. George Shepherd was the first teacher. This 
was in 1870. In 1876, a frame building of one large room was built on the site of 
the West school building. This was at a cost of $1,600. Harrison Bowker, William 
West and Benjamin Smith constituted the first school board. 

In 1879, 1880, and 1881, C. W. Vittum had charge of the schools. The enrollment 
increased in these years from 191 to 326, and four rooms were required. In 1883-'84, 
E. W. Hulse was superintendent and principal. The census showed 875 children of 
school age. The enrollment had increased to 610, and eight teachers were employed. 
A high-school course was outlined, and the first class, numbering four, was graduated 
in 1883. J. H. Everest took charge the two following years. Nine teachers were 



Mitchell County. 163 

employed, and the school property was valued at $15,000. W. D. Gardner was su- 
perintendent during the school year of 1886-'87. The enrollment was 700, and 10 
teachers were required. 

A. Ludlum was elected superintendent in 1887, and has continued in charge until 
this time. Fifteen teachers are employed, and 900 pupils enrolled. Two magnifi- 
cent buildings, containing 17 rooms, are in use. Both are commodious, and a credit 
to any city. The school property is valued at $70,000, and furniture and apparatus 
at $3,500. A carefully-prepared course of study is followed in all grades, and teach- 
ers chosen on account of special fitness have charge of the upper-grade work in 
reading, grammar, arithmetic, geography, and history. Mrs. Mary A. Ludlum, also 
an effective normal instructor, for the past six years has taught the high school. 
Pupils are fitted to enter the freshman year of colleges and the State University. 
Sixty students have graduated from the high school. The present class numbers 13. 

The examination of city teachers is independent of the county. The examining 
board consists of the city superintendent and two persons elected by the board of 
education. Certificates are issued for one, two and three years. The latter is re- 
newed without examination. Scholarship is recognized as of the utmost impor- 
tance. At an examination subsequent to the first, the special teacher of reading is 
required to pass an examination in elocution, English and American literature; the 
teacher of grammar is required to take an examination in rhetoric, history of the 
English language, and literature; the teacher of geography, to pass in physical geog- 
raphy and general history; and the teacher of arithmetic, to pass in algebra. Ex- 
aminations held at the option of superintendent. 

Those who have been high-school principals are Mrs. S. M. Whitzel, F. A. Hutto, 
Mr. Stanley, and Mrs. M. A. Ludlum. Those who have had charge of the special 
work are Miss Valorie Patterson, Elva Field, Addie Heitz, Fannie Patterson, Elnora 
White, Lalla Milligan, Lottie E. Montrose, J. E. Tyler, S. L. Lowrey, Jessie Hill. It 
has been the invariable policy of the school board to recognize scholarship and 
ability, and to retain deserving teachers. The wisdom of this was made apparent, 
and those teachers who developed a special fitness for their work and remained in 
the schools became a great power for good. 

Necessary apparatus is provided, and 600 carefully-selected volumes are in the 
library. There are few better arranged, equipped or more cheerful high-school 
rooms. Those presidents of the school board who have done much in the interest 
of the schools are G. M. Stabler, M. P. Simpson, J. Q. Barnes, J. R. Wright, E. P. 
Williams, G. H. Maltby, and D. C. Welch. The board at present consists of 10 mem- 
bers — two from each of the four wards, and two from sub-district territory. They 
are all active workers, interested in school affairs. The citizens of McPherson can 
well be proud of their schools and of those who toil therein. 



MITCHELL COUNTY.* 



Mitchell county was organized in the year 1870. It was named in honor of Capt. 
William D. Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell entered the Union army as a private in Company 
K, Second Kansas Cavalry, and was promoted to captain in the Second Kentucky 
Cavalry. The population of the county in 1870 was 485, and in 1892 was 13,500. 
Beloit is the county seat. 

The number of schoolhouses in 1876, six years after its organization, was 54. At 
the present time there are 114 districts organized, including three joint districts. 

* By Ikvin Stanley, county superintendent. 



164 History of Education, in Kansas. 

% There are 118 school buildings, with 147 rooms. Of the 118 buildings, 25 are made 
of stone. Five new buildings have been erected this year, two of which are stone, 
at a cost of $5,750. 

The early settlers of the county had to encounter many difficulties in order to 
have schools. Lumber for some of the buildings was hauled from Solomon City, a 
distance of more than 50 miles. In many of the districts the first school build- 
ings were dugouts, or sod houses; but as time rolled on and our people prospered, 
these, one by one, gave place to something better, until now not a dugout or sod 
house is used for school purposes in the county. Our later settlers seem to ap- 
preciate the inspiration of the times and the present good facilities for improve- 
ments, and are erecting more substantial and commodious buildings. 

The district schools are very well graded, Speer's " Course of Study " being the ba- 
sis. Beloit, Cawker City, Glen Elder and Scottsville have special printed courses of 
study. The two former courses embrace three years in the high school, with a view 
to preparing students for the State University. 

The district schools are divided into three grades of two classes each, viz.: Pri- 
mary, B and A; intermediate, B and A; grammar, B and A. This course embraces 
all the common-school branches, and is intended to be completed by the time the 
pupil is 15 or 16 years of age. Reports are made by the teachers to the county su- 
perintendent, giving name and grade of each pupil attending the district schools, 
and these are filed in the superintendent's office. In February of each year exami- 
nation questions are sent to all teachers having pupils in the A grammar grade, as 
a preliminary for final examination, which occurs in April and May, in designated 
districts of the county. Those who pass the final examination and take part in 
the commencement exercises receive a diploma, signed by the district officers, the 
teacher, and the county superintendent. 

The county superintendents have been: Wm. C. Cochran, 1870; J. W. Elliott and 
R. W. Lundy, 1871; John D. Mitchell, 1872-'73; Cyrus Gaston, 1874-'75; I. D. Young, 
1876-'79; M.J.Wilcox, 1880-'85; James M. Cox, 1886-'89; Irvin Stanley, 1890-'94. 

The salary of the earlier superintendents was a nominal sum. Since 1885 it has 
been $1,200. 

The following is taken from the annual report of the superintendent of schools 
of Mitchell county, for the school year 1891-'92: Number of males between 5 and 
21, 2,781; number of females between 5 and 21, 2,673; total, 5,454. Number of males 
enrolled last year, 1,924; number of females enrolled last year, 1,712; total, 3,636. 
Average daily attendance, males, 1,160; average daily attendance, females, 1,091; 
total, 2,251. Number of organized districts, 114; number of clerks reporting, 114; 
number of teachers required, 126; total salary paid male teachers, $10,260.25; aver- 
age salary paid male teachers, $35.47; total salary paid female teachers, $14,971.50; 
average salary paid female teachers, $32.33; average length of term in weeks, 28^ s ; 
value of school property, $74,500; number school buildings, 118; number of school- 
rooms, 147; bonded indebtedness, $59,038; number of persons examined, 195; num- 
ber of applicants rejected, 39; number of first-grade certificates granted, 9; number 
of second-grade certificates granted, 46; number of third-grade- certificates granted? 
82; number of temporary certificates granted, 17; average age of persons receiving 
certificates, 21.5 years; amount paid institute instructors, $371; amount of institute 
fund received, $665; amount of institute fund expended, $438.40; amount of institute 
fund on hand, $289.88; total receipts for school purposes, $38,399.06; total amount 
expended for school purposes, $34,841.46; total amount on hand by district treas- 
urers, $3,557.60. 

List of conductors and instructors, and salaries paid, in institutes : 

1886.— F. H. Clark, $140; M. A. Bailey, $125. 



Mitchell County. 165 

1887.— F. H. Clark, $140; J. W. McLaren, $100. 

1888.— F. H. Clark, $140; F. C. Perkins, $100; M. E. Craise, $75. 

1889.— W. M. Jay, $150; F. C. Perkins, $125. 

1890.— F. C. Perkins, $125; W. W. Reed, $70; Miss Lucy A. Arthur, $65. 

1891.— E. M. Brockett, $110; S. Ensminger, $90; J. W. Hullinger, $90; T. S. John- 
son, $50. 

1892.— S. Ensminger, $115; G. M. Culver, $100; W. S. Hadley, $50; A.B.Carney, 
$53; W. N. Logan, $53. 

Beloit has an excellent city library and reading room, under the management of 
the W. C. T. XL, and a well-selected school library, under the care of the superin- 
tendent. 

Cawker City has an excellent school library of several hundred volumes, and the 
city owns one of the finest libraries in the State, with a good library building. 

Glen Elder and Scottsville also have school libraries, to which about 100 volumes 
have been added this year. 

Twelve of the district schools have libraries, containing about 125 volumes of 
excellent selection. There is an increasing interest in the districts for libraries, and 
it will not be long until most of them will have a good collection of books. The 
schools are well supplied with apparatus, and most of them have Webster's Un- 
abridged Dictionary. 

Since the organization of the State Teachers' Reading Circle, 106 teachers have 
enrolled as members of that organization. Monthly reports are made to the man 
ager of the amount of work done, giving synopsis of work, etc., and a few circles 
have regular meetings. The teachers' association, which meets monthly, devotes a 
part of its program to reading-circle work. The pupils' reading circle has received 
much attention this year. Nine districts have raised the funds, principally by enter- 
tainments, and have purchased the entire set of books. Reading circles have been 
formed in some of the districts, which meet weekly at the schoolhouses. The good 
already accomplished in this line of educational work is incalculable. 

Denominational Schools. — There are three denominational schools in the 
county: Two Catholic, with an average yearly attendance of 120; have two school 
buildings, worth about $1,000. Grellet Academy, under the management of the de- 
nomination of Friends, with an average yearly enrollment of 60, with one building, 
and property worth $3,000. This academy was organized in the year 1878, with 
Prof. W. P. Trueblood as principal. Since then, the following persons have had 
charge of the school: Profs. Joseph Cosand, G. H. Hartley, Elam Henderson, Irvin 
Stanley, and J. W. Marshall. The school was chartered by the State in the year 1883. 
There is a library of about 200 volumes, and some apparatus. The academy has 
two departments — grammar and academic. The grammar department embraces all 
the common-school branches, and the academic department embraces the following: 

Fibst Year. First Term. — Algebra, Ray; bookkeeping, Bryant & Stratton; 
civil government, Young. Second Term. — Algebra; physical geography, Guyot; 
rhetoric, Hart. Third Term.— Algebra; philosophy, Steele; botany, Gray. 

Second Yeae. First Term.— German; geometry, Olney; Latin. Second Term. — 
German; geometry; Latin; general history, Barnes. Third Term. — -German; Latin; 
English history. 

Third Year. First Term.- — Zoology; Latin; English literature, Shaw. Second 
Term. — Trigonometry; Latin; elocution. Third Term. — Surveying; Latin; mental 
science. 

Beloit Schools.* — Very soon after the city of Beloit was located by Timothy F. 

*By G. M. Culver, superintendent of city schools. 



16 6 History of Education in Kansas. 

Hersey. the few pioneers of those early days felt the need of school privileges for 
their children, who had come west with them to grow up with the country. 

In the month of April, and only a very short time after Beloit had been located as a 
city, there were raised by private contribution sufficient funds to build a small Cot- 
tonwood shanty on the lots now occupied by Robert's furniture store. This shanty, 
as it was then called, was utilized as a city hall for public meetings of all kinds, as 
well as for school and church purposes, for a number of years, and the first instruc- 
tion given pupils in the city of Beloit, and perhaps in Mitchell county, was under 
the direction of Rev. 0. N. Fletcher, a Baptist missionary, who went about the coun- 
try preaching from place to place. 

It is unfortunate, for the purposes of this article, that no record of the doings of 
the school board of old district No. 2, prior to the time the present board was organ- 
ized, can be found, and therefore some of the information attempted to be given 
may be somewhat inaccurate. 

Sometime in the year 1871 or 1872, bonds were voted by the citizens of Beloit 
and vicinity, then constituting school district No. 2 of Mitchell county, for the 
erection of a schoolhouse on lots near the present high-school site. The construc- 
tion of the old high-school building, which stood until 1884, was begun soon after 
the bonds carried, but, owing to misfortune and legal entanglements, the walls were 
only partially completed before the work was obliged to be discontinued for an inter- 
val of between two and three years. Matters were finally so adjusted that the work 
was completed, and from 1878 to 1884 the old brick building with the stone addition 
was used for school purposes. For two years before the bonds for the present high 
school were voted, the old building was considered unsafe, and, on the approach of 
a storm, the superintendent was ordered by the board to dismiss the schools. The 
fact of the building being unsafe undoubtedly hastened the time of the voting of 
bonds amounting to $20,000 for the erection of new buildings for the high school 
and the third-ward school. These buildings were completed ready for occupancy in 
the fall of 1885. The high school has 10 commodious rooms, with large halls, and 
basement under the whole building, while the third-ward school has two rooms, 
neatly fitted for primary pupils. The increase in population in the city and in- 
creased amount of territory taken into the school district made it necessary to con- 
struct other buildings than those already provided, in order to accommodate the 
pupils who desired and were entitled to attend school. Accordingly, in the summer 
in 1886, a proposition was submitted for the voting of bonds, to be used in the 
erection of what is now called the second-ward school building. After the election, 
at which the bonds were carried by a majority of 48, the proceeds realized from their 
sale were used under the direction of the board of education in the construction of 
the present two-story, four-room building. The upper rooms, however, owing to a 
lack of funds, were not finished until the summer of 1892, when the board of educa- 
tion, finding it necessary to relieve the pressure in the high school, made the rooms 
ready for occupancy at the beginning of the school year 1892. 

The last estimate of the value of school property made by the board of educa- 
tion, as required by law, shows the probable value of school property and grounds 
under the control of the board to be the sum of $31,500. 

As shown by the records, the present board of education of the city of Beloit 
was organized May 5, 1879, the members of the several wards having been elected at 
the preceding April election, in conformity to law. Wm. H. Burke, now deceased, 
was elected president; Wm. Grew, vice president; A. Patten, clerk; and J. W. Walker, 
treasurer. Soon after its organization a meeting of the board was held, at which 
time a settlement with the clerk and treasurer of old school district No. 2 was had. 
There was something like $2,000 indebtedness, with no available funds worth men- 



Mitchell County. 167 

tioning. This indebtedness was assumed by the new board, and was the cause of 
much anxiety and trouble to that and succeeding boards for a number of years. 
The following terse quotation from the address of Pres. W. H. Mitchell serves to il- 
lustrate the questions which perplexed and vexed the board during the first few 
years of its existence: 

"The board of education organized in May, 1879, came into power with many 
and varied difficulties before them, chief among which was a large floating debt of 
over $3,000, and with schoolroom sufficient to accommodate only about one-half of 
the pupils of our city. But, thanks to the united and energetic efforts of the board, 
backed up by the generous support of our wide-awake citizens, they were enabled 
successfully to grapple with the problem presented. Bonds were voted, bearing a 
low rate of interest, and negotiated at par, our floating indebtedness funded, and 
ample schoolroom provided, placing our schools upon a firm and enduring basis, in 
a financial point of view at least, which was gratifying alike to all concerned." 

The rules and regulations adopted soon after the organization of the board have 
been successfully used without change down to the present time. This fact, with 
many others which might be mentioned, speaks well for the foresight, integrity and 
earnestness of those gentlemen who composed the earlier boards of education. 
From the organization of the board down to the present time, the one great aim 
which has been kept in view is the best interests of the schools, to the end that 
pupils who attend shall have the opportunity of procuring a liberal, yet practical, 
education. 

It is a notable fact, also, that under all circumstances the individual members of 
the board, composed as it has been from time to time of a number of business men 
whose interests were different, have at all times sacrificed their individual opinions, 
although conscientiously advocating them, and yielded to the will of the majority. 
Our board also has the reputation among the teachers of the State of extending its 
hearty cooperation and liberal support to teachers and superintendents. Perhaps 
the fact that almost perfect harmony has always prevailed between superintend- 
ents and teachers and the board, as much as any other, has been the cause of our 
schools ranking among the very highest in the State. 

It might be interesting, also, to glance at the business transactions of the board. 
In this connection, it is safe to say that no private business enterprise has been con- 
ducted more economically or with better results than those attained by the board 
of this city, as an examination of the particular acts and transactions will show. 
From May 5, 1879, to the present time, the board has met in regular or called ses- 
sions 342 times, and covering the same period there has been expended, for the main- 
tenance of the schools and school buildings and grounds, the sum of $78,046.33, this 
not including any of the expenses of the school year beginning September 12, 1892. 
All the present buildings have been erected during that period, the grounds graded, 
trees planted, water pipes and walks laid, steam-heating apparatus placed in the 
main building, besides a large amount of school furniture purchased and kept in re- 
pair, while the able corps of superintendents and teachers has been kept to the stand- 
ard of the board. 

It is a fact not known to many, that the wages paid by our board for its teach- 
ers are as high as the wages which teachers receive in the larger cities of the State* 
and there are very few places, if any, which pay higher wages for the same character 
of services rendered by teachers. An examination of the school apparatus, furni- 
ture and charts will show that the board appreciates these practical helps to educa- 
tion. In the lower rooms will be found the latest charts, globes, maps, and all other 
appliances which are calculated to assist in the development of pupils, while for the 



168 History of Education in Kansas. 

advanced pupils there is provided a reasonably-complete laboratory for experiments 
in the sciences and other branches. 

The pupils and superintendent, under the auspices of the board, have given a 
series of entertainments, by means of which they have purchased a school library, 
which, with the recent addition of about 100 of the latest works, aggregates nearly 
600 volumes, to which all pupils of suitable age have free access. 

The following is a list of members of the board of education since its organiza- 
tion: D. F. Eakin, Wm. H. Burke, Carrie Byrd, J. A. Bell, Levi Cooper, Henry Casey, 
J. H. Calderhead, J. M. Cox, C. N. Fowler, George T. Finnel, J. M. Friels, C. H. Gui- 
bor, Wm. Grew, James Kempthorne, F. J. Knight, Etta Lamb, G. L. Myers, A. Mani- 
fold, W. H. Mitchell, J. H. Middaugh, P. W. Nippert, A. Patten, H. A. Phelps, Joseph 
Pelletier, B. H. Richardson, J. H. Roberts, A. T. Rodgers, A. L. Sears, J. W. Seward, 
J. F. Soper, C. P. Stevens, W. C. Stevens, S. Thanhauser, L. D. Williams, M. J. Wil- 
cox, J. W. Walker. 

Ever since the school district has been under municipal charge, there never has 
been a time when the attendance was less than 500, and prior to that date no effort 
had been made to grade the school in a systematic manner, for, as a matter of 
fact, there was little thought of grading schools in any portion of the State before 
that time. The board has been fortunate in securing the services of broad-minded 
comprehensive men for superintendents, who were capable of grasping the situation, 
and bring out of the chaos that existed a symmetrical system which now affords 
progressive training for the pupil from the first primary to the last days of the high 
school. To Professors Middaugh and Hutchins, more than to any other succeeding 
teachers, perhaps, belongs the credit of the success of the schools in point of grada- 
tion. These gentlemen laid the foundation and prepared the way for the work 
which has been so well carried on and perfected by the succeeding superintendents. 
Their work to the school system was what the architect's plan is to the building: it 
has taken years to place successfully in operation the work which they laid out to be 
done. The course of study which is now in use in the schools lays out a line of work 
which, if faithfully and energetically followed by the pupil, will fit him for the duties 
of life. 

The following-named persons have been employed as superintendents of the 
schools since the board of education took them in charge: Miss Carrie Bauman, F. 
H. Clark, G. M. Culver, S. Ensminger, Bion S. Hutchins, W. M. Jay, J. H. Middaugh, 
and D. K. Thomas. 

The work of the superintendents and that planned by the board would be as 
useless to the schools and the patrons as an architect's plans would be to the builder 
if such plans were not used in the erection of a building. The teachers employed 
during the last 13 years show that the board and superintendents have been ably 
assisted in performing their duties. 

An idea of the growth of the schools may be obtained from the following table 
in which appear the average enrollment and attendance during each year, since 
1879: 



1880. 
1881. 
1882. 
1883. 
1884. 
1885. 



Average 
enrollment. 


Av. daily 
attendance. 








295 


1886 


333 




307 


1887 


371 




350 


1888 


354 




325 


1889 


458 




437 


1890 


578 




544 


1891 



Average 
enrollment. 


Av. daily 
attendance* 


573 


539 


593 


562 


713 


579 


757 


566 


773 


583 


765 


630 



The class of work which has been done by pupils of all grades has been raised to 
a higher standard of excellence and more'work required of the pupils than formerly. 



Nemaha County. 169 

The diploma from the high school now admits a graduate to the freshman class of 
the University. The character of training of the graduates who have left the high 
school, and their success in life, it seems to us, will prove to any fair-minded person 
that the arduous labors of teachers and superintendents have not been in vain. The 
first regular class, consisting of two members, left the high school in 1883, and each 
succeeding year larger classes, until now the list of graduates contains 127 young 
ladies and gentlemen who have received their diplomas. 



NEMAHA COUNTY. 



Although Nemaha county was organized in 1855, it was nearly four years before 
schools were organized. Probably the first school in the county was a private one, 
taught by Miss Ada Smith, in Seneca, in 1859. The log schoolhouse built about four 
miles south of Seneca, in the fall of 1859, was probably the first schoolhouse built in 
the county. 

The early educational history of Nemaha county is blended with that of Cen- 
tralia. In 1858, T. P. Coan, of Clayton, 111., N. B. McKay, of Galesburg, 111., and one 
other gentleman, whose name is not known to the writer, were sent to Kansas by the 
"Home Association," of Galesburg, 111., "to select a township of land, to be settled 
by neighbors, friends, and acquaintances, in order to have society advantages with- 
out waiting the usual slow progress." J. T. Morse was the originator of the associ- 
ation, and the first president. The plan was unique and interesting, and is worthy 
a careful study. It is sufficient for the purposes of this history to say, that the town 
was laid out and provisions made for the support of schools and churches. The 
plan provided for a section at the center of the township to be laid out in town lots 
and " mechanics' shares," which were lots ranging in size from 1\ to 10 acres. The 
proceeds of the sale of the section of town lots and mechanics' shares were to en- 
dow a college. Provisions were made for eight other school districts in the town- 
ship. In 1859-'60, a two-story frame building was erected on the town site, for 
school and religious purposes, and Rev. Mr. Strombridge, a Congregational minister, 
preached occasionally. 

In 1861, Rev. Daniel Foster, a Unitarian minister, from Boston, and a graduate 
of Dartmouth College, in conjunction with F. P. Baker and others, obtained a charter 
for the organization of Centralia College. Rev. Mr. Foster opened the school with 60 
pupils, and continued it until the spring of 1862, when, through unfortunate wrang- 
ling, which resulted in forming two factions, one party took the door and window 
frames out of the building, by this act compelling the school to vacate the building. 
The school was continued, however, in the law office of F. P. Baker for a month, 
when the doors and windows were restored, preparatory to moving a family into 
the house. The faction in favor of continuing the school rallied, took possession of 
the building, and guarded it with guns and revolvers all one day, while both parties 
sent emissaries in search of the sheriff. The messenger of the opposition faction 
found him first, and got warrants into his hands for the arrest of 23 of the school 
faction, charging them with riot. They were taken to Seneca, and, after a week of 
preliminary examination, were bound over for trial at the next term of the district 
court. They were subsequently tried and acquitted. But the trouble killed Cen- 
tralia College for all time. Thus was ended one of the earliest, if not the earliest, 
attempt at higher education in Kansas. That which promised to be a flourishing 
school was cut off in the very beginning of its usefulness. 

In 1876, the courthouse was destroyed by fire, and all the records of the county 



170 History of Education in Kansas. 

superintendent's office were burned, so that it is difficult to ascertain the early edu- 
cational history of Nemaha county. 

Centralia was organized as district No. 1 and Seneca as district No. 3. Where 
No. 2 was, I have been unable to ascertain. Districts were organized very rapidly, 
for we know that as early as 1861 Seneca was changed to No. 11. There are now 
115 districts and 12 joint districts. 

Following is a list of the county superintendents, with the term served by each: 
Joseph C. Hibbard, 1859-'60; J. W. Tuller, part of 1860; F. P. Baker, 1860-'61; Dan- 
iel Foster, 1861-62; Joseph C. Hibbard, 1862-'63; Thos. D. Sheppard, 1863-'65; 
L. C. Preston, part of 1865; Abijah Wells, part of 1865; Thos. D. Sheppard, 1866-'67; 
J. H. Ballou, 1868-'69; J. S. Stamm, 1869-'70; P. K. Shoemaker, 1870-'73; I. D. Sam- 
mons, 1873-75; Abij ah Wells, 1875-'81; J. A. Amos, 1881-'85; E.H. Chapman, 1885-'89; 
J. J. McCary, 1889-'93; Milton Todd, 1893. 

Seneca Schools. — In May, 1859, Miss Ada Smith organized the first school 
taught in Seneca. It was a subscription school, and was taught in the old hotel on 
the south side of Main street, at the corner of Main and State streets, on the lots now 
occupied by the store of Kennard & Vickers. This was probably the first school 
taught in Nemaha county. There was a "bee" on the Nemaha, about 3i miles south 
of Seneca, in the fall, at which a log schoolhouse was erected, and school was taught 
there during the fall and winter of 1859-'60. This was probably the first school- 
house erected within the county. Miss Smith's school was taught three months, with 
nine pupils. The educational work was continued by John Clayton, who taught a 
winter term of subscription school, and was the first teacher employed after the or- 
ganization of the district. 

On February 23, 1860, district No. 3 was organized by electing J. C. Scott di- 
rector, Samuel Lappin clerk, and C. F. Warren treasurer. This meeting authorized 
the board "to select and purchase a site for a schoolhouse," and levied a tax of one- 
half of 1 per cent, "to defray the cost of purchase," and a tax of one-half of 1 per 
cent, to pay teachers. But, at a meeting held the following September, these taxes 
were " annulled," and a tax of one-half of 1 per cent, was levied "for teachers' wages, 
and 1 mill on the dollar to pay incidental expenses." At this meeting, Finley Lap- 
pin, who still resides in Seneca, at an advanced age, was elected director; Dr. D. B. 
McKay, who died a few years ago, who remained a staunch friend to the Seneca 
schools to the last, and who indelibly stamped the mark of his influence for good 
not only on the schools, but upon every public enterprise for the advancement of 
Seneca, was elected treasurer; and Samuel Lappin, who was a conspicuous figure in 
the early history of northeastern Kansas, and afterward achieved an unenviable rep- 
utation as State Treasurer, was elected clerk. This board organized the first public 
school in Seneca, and employed John Clayton to teach, at $25 per month. Rev. Geo. 
Reack, a Methodist minister with a broad Scotch brogue, noted for his extravagant 
use of adjectives, taught a three-months term, from May to July, 1861, at $30 per 
month. The entire board was changed in September of this year by the annual 
meeting, and a tax of $50 was levied to make up the deficiency of the preceding 
year. The enumeration of the district was reported as follows: Males, 39, females, 
26; total, 65. Number attending school: Males, 25, females, 15; total, 40. 

The following letter explains the change in the numbering of the district: 

Centralia, Kas., December 11, 1861. 

Doctor Welsh: The school district of which you are clerk, in Richmond township, formerly desig- 
nated as No. 3, will hereafter be known as district No. 11. Please so make a note on your book. 

Yours truly, F. P. Baker, Superintendent. 

T. D. Sheppard, afterward county superintendent, was employed to teach three 
months, from November 18, 1862, at $30 per month, and in December he was author- 



Nemaha County. 171 

ized to hire horaes to go in search of an assistant teacher. He found one in the per- 
son of Miss Hattie E. Grover, who taught two months, at $22 per month. 

In February, 1863, the board "ordered that the term of one quarter shall be com- 
posed of 13 weeks; second, that 5| days shall constitute a week." J. W. Tuller, who 
had been county superintendent in 1860, and was afterward county clerk, was em- 
ployed for the quarter, at $30 per month, from March 3, 1863, and the courthouse 
was hired for school purposes. 

At the annual meeting, June 25, 1863, block 40, now occupied by the Catholic 
Church, offered by the county commissioners, was accepted as a schoolhouse site, 
and the board was authorized "to build a schoolhouse, using the credit of the dis- 
trict after the funds are exhausted." In the following July, they contracted for 
the brick, and, in May, 1864, contracted with "Geo. Munro and L. J. McGowen to 
build a schoolhouse 24x50 feet and 12 feet high, for $1,760;" and, in July, at a special 
meeting, bonds of the district were voted in the amount of $2,000, to pay for the 
building, there being 50 votes cast, all for the bonds. 

L. C. Preston was employed for the winter term of four months of 1863-'64, at 
$50 per month, and he furnished his own assistant. His assistant, Mrs. M. G. Pres- 
ton, his wife, continued the summer term of three months. The next teacher was 
F. L. Wright, who taught a month only, and was succeeded by W. F. Wells, whose 
health failing him in January, 1865, his brother, Abijah, and Miss Kate Webber took 
his place, and finished his year, and also taught the succeeding year. Mr. Wells still 
lives in the city, and is at present a member of the board of education. He is a 
prominent lawyer of this city, and has always been a faithful friend of education and 
one of the leaders in the educational work of Nemaha county, having been three 
times elected county superintendent, and having served part of another term by 
appointment; he has always kept in touch with the old teachers of Kansas. To him 
the writer is indebted for many of the facts contained in this notice of the Seneca 
schools. 

At a meeting held pursuant to public notice by the district board, July 7, 1866, 
it was "Resolved, That the district board be instructed to provide for the separate 
education of the colored children of the district; that a teacher and room be pro- 
cured for them by one week from Monday next, and sooner if practicable." Accord- 
ingly, Mrs. Loveland was employed, and taught the three colored children of school 
age in her own house. 

This year, Rev. Chas. Holmes, now an Episcopal minister, and his sister, Mary 
Holmes, were employed for the year. This was the first time it was necessary to 
have three teachers; heretofore, two teachers for the four months of winter, and one 
for the summer or spring term, were deemed sufficient. At the annual school meet- 
ing in March, 1867, a resolution was offered to procure a separate room and teacher 
for the three colored children; but a substitute was offered and adopted, "That the 
district board make such arrangements for the education of the colored children as 
they deem expedient." No provision was made for them by the board. They em- 
ployed L. C. Preston as principal and his wife as assistant, thus reducing the teach- 
ing force again to two. The colored question remained in innocuous desuetude 
until May 28, 1869, when a special meeting was called to consider the question, at 
which the following was offered: "Resolved, That we make no provision for the sep- 
arate education of white and colored children." The record pithily says: "Adopted; 
meeting thereupon adjourned. — D. B. McKay, Clerk." This was the final quietus 
of the colored question in Seneca, so far as the schools are concerned; but they had 
questions of more importance to occupy their energies. The builders were again at 
the helm. May 3, 1868, a special election was held, under a special law, to vote bonds 
to the amount of $15,000 to build " a graded-school house," at which 57 votes (a 



172 History of Education in Kansas. 

unanimous election) were cast for the bonds. As a result of this election, the old 
stone building, of four rooms, was built on the site of the present splendid building, 
during the summer of 1869. The old site and building were sold, and the present one 
purchased, for the erection of the new building. 

In records of the annual meeting, March 31, 1870, we find: "Motion made and 
carried, instructing and authorizing the school board of said district to reduce our 
school to a graded school immediately." George Graham, A. Wells and J. P. Taylor 
were appointed to make propositions to the board appointed to locate the State 
Normal School to locate at Seneca; empowered the committee "to offer the school- 
house of the district;"' and, also, "to make such other and additional offers as they 
may think advisable, in order to secure the location of said school." The commit- 
tee attended the meeting of the board and made their offer, but there is no record of 
their report. We only know their mission was not successful, but nothing was lost. 
Seneca had the best schoolhouse in northern Kansas, a preeminence she still main- 
tains. 

But, having disposed of the colored question, and having built a new schoolhouse, 
we must now look after the teaching force. In the fall of 1868, Rev. J. H. Ballon, a 
Universalist minister, was chosen principal, with Julia E. Marian, assistant. Mr. 
Ballou moved to Lawrence, after teaching a short time, and E. M. Dimmock took his 
place. As the result of Mr. Dimmock's efforts, we find the following, adopted at the 
next annual meeting: 

Resolved, That the board of directors of this district are hereby instructed to employ no person as 
principal of the school Who is not a graduate of a normal school, unless he brings satisfactory testimo- 
nials from some experienced educator, or from some institution of learning or school above the com- 
mon-school grade, with which he has been connected either as student or teaeher. 

S. L. Hamilton was employed as principal for the summer and fall of 1869, with 
Louisa Harden as assistant. Miss Harden, now Mrs. Murphey, still resides in Seneca r 
and was a quite successful teacher, remaining in the schools for full four years. She 
was succeeded by Mrs. L. H. Dey, with one term intervening. Mrs. Dey taught five 
years, and was succeeded by Mrs. E. M. Collins, who still holds the position. Thus the 
primary department — that is, the first year in school for the pupil — has been con 
ducted for the past 25 years with but three changes, and for the last 15 years without 
a change. Mrs. Dey was an excellent teacher, and under her management the pri- 
mary school prospered, and it continued without any falling off in progress or effi 
ciency under the able management of her successor. This is an unusual record for 
a town of this size, as regards changes of teachers; but a more remarkable record is 
that Mrs. Collins, in 15 years' successive teaching, has been at her post of duty every 
morning except two, having been detained at home by sickness only two days in 15 
years. 

Mr. Hamilton was succeeded by A. H. Owen, early in 1870, who remained at the 
head of the schools until 1873. Mr. Owen was the first to occupy the new school- 
house, built for the reception of a State normal school. He was the first principal 
to attempt a graded school. Under his management a third teacher was added to 
the force, in the person of Daniel Huhn, who taught a German school. This was 
really a concession to the Catholic element of the district, and was continued five 
years, during four of which Mr. Huhn was the teacher; the last year, Miss A. Deich- 
man took his place., The German school was then discontinued, and German was 
not again taught in the schools until 1886-'87, when it was added to the curriculum, 
and has since been one of the studies of the high school. 

A. H. Miller took charge of the schools in the fall of 1873, with three assistants, 
(a teacher having been added the preceding year,) and conducted the educational 
affairs for two years. Mr. Miller was the brother of Sol. Miller, editor of the Troy 
Chief, and died in Doniphan county within the last two or three years. 



Nemaha County. , 173 

D. F. Hoover was the next principal, taking charge of the schools in the fall of 
1875, with three assistants. Mr. Hoover continued at the head of the schools until 
June, 1886, when he resigned, to take charge of the schools at Concordia, Kas., hav- 
ing served the people faithfully and effectually for 11 successive years. During his 
administration of affairs, the corps of teachers was increased to nine, an addition 
was made to the main building, and a ward school, the "Van Loan Memorial Build- 
ing," was erected in the southwest quarter of the town. Mr. Hoover's work at Seneca 
was eminently successful, and he left the schools fairly graded and in good condi- 
tion, with a course of study covering 13 years, including three years of high school. 
Graduates of the school were credited at the State Normal School, and admitted to 
the classes there without examination. 

Early in 1886, Seneca was organized as a city of the second class, and the num- 
ber of the members of the board of education was increased from three to eight. 
The first board elected under the new order was Hons. J. E. Taylor and R. M. Em- 
ery, from the first ward; Rev. J. A. Amos and Geo. W. Williams, from the second 
ward; and R. E. Nelson and L. B. Keith, from the third ward — all representative 
business men. Mr. Amos was elected president, G. W. Williams vice president, How- 
•ard Thompson clerk, Edward Butt treasurer. The territory adjoining the city, but 
outside of the incorporation, did not take part in the first election, but, the follow- 
ing spring, elected H. B. Nichols and Daniel Marshall, two representative farmers, 
members of the board, after which time, until 1892, the board consisted of eight 
members. In the spring of 1892, in conformity to the recent law, no member was 
elected from outlying territory. The board was thus reduced to seven members. 
The board, as now constituted, is: T. C. Vickers, president, third ward; Geo. W.Wil- 
liams, vice president, second ward; Abijah Wells, D. J. Firstenberger, first ward; 
Frank Greenwood, second ward; D. B. Harsh, third ward; and J. P. Taylor, from 
district outside of the city. G. O. Taylor is the clerk, and J. H. Hatch treasurer. 

In 1881, Jacob Van Loan died, and left a part of his estate to district No. 11. 
The bequest amounted to % 4,485, and with it was built the "Van Loan Memorial 
Building," in third ward, as has been before stated. 

The present superintendent, J. G. Schofield, was first elected in 1886, and has 
been unanimously, with one exception, reelected every year since. Under his ad- 
ministration, the number of years in the course of study has been reduced to 12, and 
the number of teachers has been increased to 12. The efficiency of the schools has 
been greatly increased by closer grading, until now each teacher has but one grade 
of scholars to teach, except in the high school — here the four classes are assigned 
to two rooms. There are eight years in the grades and four years in the high school. 
The first year in the high school is really an advanced grammar school. In it, higher 
arithmetic, bookkeeping, advanced grammar, physical geography, civil government, 
physiology and United States history are taught. Two English classics are read, 
critically, each year. The present year, " Evangeline " and Hawthorne's " Tales of the 
White Hills " were the ones selected. After this year, the ninth in the course, the 
regular high-school work begins, and continues three years. The ground covered 
may be described briefly: Mathematics — algebra, geometry (plane and solid), and 
plane trigonometry; four books of Caesar, six orations of Cicero, and five books 
of Virgil; two years of German is optional. English is continued by all pupils 
throughout the course. Lockwood's Lessons in English, History of English Lan- 
guage and Brooke's English Literature are the texts. The critical reading of En- 
glish classics is kejpt up throughout the four years of high school, and pupils are 
examined and graded on the work done. They are also required to write essays on 
the readings. The scope may be judged by the work of the present year: "Deserted 
Village," juniors; "Lady of the Lake," junior and middle classes; play of "Julius 



174 History of Education in Kansas. ["] 

C&sar," senior and middle classes; and "Prologue" and "Merchant's Tale," of Chau- 
cer's "Canterbury Tales," seniors. General history, chemistry, physics, botany and 
drawing complete the list of studies. The last five months in school are devoted to 
a complete review of arithmetic, language, Latin grammar, and reading. Each 
pupil in the schools is required to do some literary work at least once each month. 

The literary societies are controlled and managed by the pupils, but it is a part 
of the school work, and the teachers are held responsible for the character of the 
work done. In the high school, one of the rooms is organized as a senate, and the 
other as a house of representatives. In these bills are formulated and passed, under 
the rules of the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, thus 
affording instruction in parliamentary law and practical legislation. Graduates of 
the high school are admitted to the freshman class in several of the courses of the 
State University without examination. They are also admitted to other State in- 
stitutions and colleges of Kansas. 

To procure thoroughness and mental power in pupils has been the aim of the 
present administration. The first class (of five) was graduated in 1881, and in each 
succeeding year until 1886, when 36 were graduated, the number increased. The re- 
quirements for graduation having been enlarged, there was no class in 1887, but a 
class of four was graduated in 1888, three of them post graduates, having completed 
the old course with the class of 1886. No class was graduated again in 1890; so that, 
of the 104 graduates from the schools, only IB have been graduated since 1886, in- 
cluding the three mentioned above, who were graduated with the class of that year. 
The graduating class oi 1893 consists of nine members, the largest since 1886. The 
average age of the class of 1893 is a little over 18 years. 

In 1888, the old stone building came to be regarded as unsafe, and as the board 
had to provide more room for the schools, it was deemed advisable to tear away the 
old building, and build on the same site a commodious modern building. Accord 
ingly, in December of that year, the board requested the mayor to call a special 
election to vote bonds for that purpose. The election was held February 4, 1889, at 
which $20,000 of 5-per-cent. bonds were voted, by a vote of 338 for to 140 against 
the bonds. The board advertised for plans, and accepted the one from which the 
present building was erected, but finding that the house could not be built for the 
money voted, they asked an additional sum of $5,000, which was voted in May. The 
contract was let, and the building which now graces the block east of the courthouse 
square was erected, and in the early spring of 1890 was occupied by the schools. 
The building is of brick and stone, two stories above the 10-foot basement, in which 
are play rooms and lunch rooms. It is heated by steam, and is well arranged for ven- 
tilating purposes. It contains 12 rooms for schools, a recitation room or superin- 
tendent's office, and a library. Seated with single seats of modern make and finish, 
with slate blackboards, teachers' closets, commodious cloakrooms, spacious halls 
ample windows, and modern architecture, it makes a building of which every Senecan 
is justly proud. 

Thus we leave the schools of Seneca, and when we compare the present situation 
with that of a quarter of a century ago, at which time the schools were housed in an 
ill-contrived building of one room, seated with benches without backs, with two 
teachers, one in each end of the room, hearing classes six hours a day, we cannot 
bring our minds to believe that it is possible to increase the arrangements for the 
comfort and mental culture of the children in the same ratio for another 25 years. 



Neosho County. lib 



NEOSHO COUNTY.* 

Prior to the organization of the county of Neosho, in 1866, a few subscription 
schools had been taught in the county; but of these we have no record save in the 
memories of the pioneer settlers. One of the first, if not the first, schools in the 
county was taught by Miss Emma Packard, in an old, deserted log cabin, which 
stood on an eminence about 2\ miles east of where the city of Chanute now stands. 

With the organization of the county, in 1866, came the tide' of immigration, and 
during the two years which Mr. S. E. Beach, (to whom we are indebted for the facts 
concerning the early history of the schools,) the first county superintendent, held 
the office, he was able to organize 14 school districts. Some of these districts were 
formed prior to the Government survey of the county, and their boundary lines were 
rather indefinite, creeks, hollows and ridges of land being used instead of the sec- 
tion, half-section and quarter-section lines, as we now have them. 

Schoolhouses were scarce, and all sorts of makeshifts were employed to supply 
the deficiency. Deserted cabins, log houses (put up by the combined labor of the 
people) and single rooms in dwellings more than usually commodious were the usual 
places where schools were taught. The traditional sod house of Kansas had either 
not been invented at that time, or timber was too plenty to warrant the use of this 
favorite building material of western Kansas. 

Scarce as were the schoolhouses, good teachers were yet scarcer, and Mr. Beach 
tells us that during his term of office, while he granted certificates to many in order 
that there should be enough legally-quali&ed teachers to teach the schools, and so 
draw the public-school money, only two candidates were really deserving of teachers' 
certificates. We quote from Mr. Beach's letter: 

" Sometimes those proposing to teach would come to me to be examined, and at 
other times they would send word to me that they were already teaching, and request 
me to come and visit the school and examine the teacher. ... I was frequently 
requested by the school boards to be a little easy in the examination. ... I 
sometimes found it difficult to select questions easy enough to elicit any correct an- 
swers, as I did not like to grant a first-grade certificate without getting some correct 
answers. ... Of one lady candidate for a teacher's certificate I asked the ques- 
tion, 'What is a noun?' She replied that she did not know, as she had studied gram- 
mar but little. I then asked her a few questions in geography, all of which she failed 
to answer, until I asked her to name the capital of Kansas, when she promptly re- 
plied, 'Humboldt!' I gave her a certificate." 

The successor of Mr. Beach to the office of county superintendent was a Mr. Mc- 
Caslin, of Jacksonville^ and he in turn was succeeded by Mr. J. L. Evans. During 
the terms of office of these two gentlemen, rapid advancement was made in the 
schools. Districts were organized rapidly, and school buildings of a much better 
class than those before used sprang up in every direction as if by magic. Many of 
these buildings are doing service to-day, and many have been replaced by better 
structures. Soon all these old houses will have passed away, and Neosho county 
will be equipped with as good a set of public schoolhouses as can be found in any 
county in the State. 

Perhaps the most prominent teacher of the county, from its organization to 1880, 
was Prof. J. A. Wardlow, for six years — 1872 to 1878 — principal of the schools of 
Osage Mission, then the largest and most important town in the county. He was 
an earnest, thorough and efficient teacher, and left an impression on the schools of 
the county that will not soon be effaced. Many of his pupils are to-day among the 

*By Anna L. Zehneb, county superintendent. 



176 History of Education in Kansas. 

prominent and successful teachers of the county. Other and later prominent labor- 
ers in the educational fields of the county are Messrs. Light, Herod, and Cronk. 
These gentlemen have done much to advance our public schools, both as officers and 
as teachers. 

Although too much credit can hardly be given to those who have held the 
more prominent positions, we cannot pass over the rank and file of the teachers 
who, though their positions have been less prominent and their compensation often 
inadequate, have toiled patiently and steadily under adverse circumstances. To 
this band of noble, unselfish and devoted men and women the schools of the county 
owe more than to all else. Patiently they have advanced the schools, step by step, 
from the irregular, ungraded schools of the pioneer days to the systematically- 
graded and efficient schools of the present. Of such men as F. M. Abbott, the oldest 
of our teachers in point of number of years taught in the county, now principal of 
the Thayer schools, and C. D. Herod, for years a teacher in our schools, and to whom 
the Erie schools owe much of their present efficiency; of such women as Mrs. Belle 
Dunham, since 1873 a teacher in the primary schools of the towns, and now doing 
yeoman service in the primary schools of Chanute, and Miss Lizzie Barnhart, for 14 
years a teacher in the schools of the county, it is needless to write in eulogy. Their 
work remains in hundreds of the young and progressive citizens of the present, a 
perpetual monument to their earnestness and thorough, practical work. 

Had we the space, we could easily name a hundred others whose work as teachers 
deserves especial mention. 

The normal institute's, too, have wielded an immeasurable influence in shaping 
and improving both schools and teachers. From the first one held, in August, 1877, 
under A. H. Turner, county superintendent, conducted by J. H. Lawhead, who, for a 
number of years, conducted our county institutes, to the present, they have been 
well attended, and the teachers have taken a keen interest in their work. It was 
chiefly through the work done in these institutes, and the personal efforts of Super- 
intendent Cronk, that the present satisfactory system of grading for the country 
schools was brought about. An earlier effort in this direction was made during the 
administration of Superintendent Light, but owing chiefly to the indifference of 
some of the teachers, who had not yet awakened to the importance of grading all 
the schools in the county on the same system, the effort was only partially success- 
ful. But, from this time on, the believers in this plan agitated the subject at all 
teachers' meetings, as well as at the normals, until the better education of the teach- 
ers, as well as the general progression in educational matters, resulted in the adop- 
tion by the assembled teachers of a course of study, which is now being very gen- 
erally followed. 

There are now in the county 101 public schools, employing 52 male teachers at 
an average monthly salary of $43, and 95 female teachers at an average of $34 per 
month. In these schools 2,429 male and 2,365 female pupils receive instruction for 
an average of 28 weeks each year, while the total value of the school property out- 
side the cities of the second class is $91,550. 

The teachers of the county have lately been taking an active interest in the 
teachers' reading circle. More than 50 per cent, of all our teachers are members of 
this organization, and are reading the course as laid down by the State board. 
Much good has already resulted from this systematic reading of good books, and 
we expect much more to result as this widening, broadening influence makes itself 
felt in the teachers, and through them in the schools. 

The following is a list of the county superintendents of Neosho county, in order 
of their election: S. E. Beach, 1866-'68; W. L. McCaslin, 1868-'70; J. L. Evans, 
1870-'72; S. Winfield, 1872-'74; T. P. Leech, 1874-'76; A. H. Turner, 1876-'80; C. M. 



Norton County. 177 

Light, 1880-'84; E. A. Herod, 1884-'88; W. L. Cronk, 1888-'90; Anna L. Zehner, 
1890. 

Private educational enterprises in this county are few. The conditions have not 
been favorable to the establishment of schools of this character. The generally- 
excellent public schools and the easily-accessible State institutions at Lawrence, 
Emporia, and Manhattan, as well as the schools at Fort Scott and Baldwin, have 
discouraged private enterprises. However, we have not been and are not without 
private schools, and good ones, too. Before the establishment of a single public 
school — before the organization of the county — before there were enough white 
children in the county to form a school, the Rev. Father Schoemaker, a pioneer 
missionary of the Catholic Church, had established, at Osage Mission, a school for 
Indian boys. As the country became settled by whites, this school gradually drifted 
into a mixed school for boys of both races, and finally was attended by very few 
Indians, while white boys from all over the South and West came every year for in- 
struction. Large, substantial and commodious buildings were erected, and the school 
flourished until a year ago, when a change in the management resulted in closing 
this institution, as we hope, temporarily. We trust that at no distant day these 
buildings may again be occupied by an active, energetic and progressive school. 

Across the street from the buildings above referred to stands a collection of im- 
posing stone structures. This is St. Ann's Academy, a boarding school for young 
ladies. It is under the management of the order of the Sisters of Loretto. This 
school was established about the year, 1868, by Mother Bridget, the first mother 
superior, who managed it long and well. Under her direction it grew to be one of 
the best as well as the most popular schools of its kind in the West. After the death 
of Mother Bridget, which occurred in 1890, the institution was under the charge of 
Mother Catharine, until August of 1892, when the reins of government were assumed 
by Mother Simeon, the present mother superior. The school is now in excellent 
condition, numbering among its students young ladies from a dozen States and 
Territories. A number of our best educated and most successful teachers are grad- 
uates of this school. 



NORTON COUNTY.* 



The settlement of Norton county began in the spring of 1872. This territory, 
lying in the homestead region, was at that time an excellent hunting ground. Buf- 
faloes, antelope, deer and other game were abundant; herds of wild horses could be 
seen, and the presence of beaver and other fur-bearing animals made trapping re- 
munerative. 

So rapidly was the county settled, that in August of that year its organization 
was effected. As soon as a settlement could muster 15 children, the nu nber required 
by law, a school district was organized, and to get the requisite number, the bound- 
aries were made, in some instances, to take in as much as two congressional town- 
ships. 

The first school was taught by J. H. Simmons, in a dugout at Norton, there being 
26 pupils enrolled, some of whom lived 50 miles distant. This school was opened in 
December, 1873. Another school was opened soon after near Devizes, by M. J. Fitz- 
patrick. J. B. Shepard began teaching near Almena, Ed. Huge near Oronoque, A. 
J. Davis near Clayton, and J. W. Longford near Edmond. T. J. Beaumont, Alonzo 

*By F. H. Baker and H. M. Culteb. 
—12 



178 History of Education in Kansas. 

Simmons, Mrs. C. E. Hillsinger and Mrs. A. T. Rogers were also among the pioneer 
teachers. 

The county superintendents, including the appointee at the organization of the 
county, are named in tha order of service: N. H. Billings, D. W. Mills, J. W. Long- 
ford. J. H. Simmons, Samuel Means, J. H. Simmons (second term), George W. Blaine, 
and Frank H. Baker. 

The first schoolhouses were dugouts and log cabins; then came sod houses; while 
at this time, 1893, the prairies are ornamented with excellent frame buildings, con- 
taining as good furniture, blackboards, etc., as can be found anywhere. 

In 1888, under the leadership of Dr. Ely, a series of educational meetings was in- 
augurated, and stirring addresses were made in all the cities and villages of the 
county, besides in a number of country districts. By means of these meetings, 
which are still continued, the teachers have become zealous, the patrons interested, 
and the schools benefited. 

Aside from the county superintendents may be named a long list of teachers of 
excellent ability, to whom great credit is due for the splendid condition of the 
schools. While all cannot be mentioned in this brief sketch, yet it may not be im- 
proper to name Miss R. D. Kiner, D. C. Nutting, Columbus Borin, W. H. Hiles, R. D. 
Emery, and Mrs. M. J. Davies, deceased. 

In August of each year, a four-weeks institute is held, and each month a strong 
county organization of teachers meets. The schools of the county are well graded; 
and from many school buildings the stars and stripes, proudly floating in the breeze r 
keep the spirit of patriotism ablaze. 

Graded schools, in excellent buildings, are maintained at Norton, Almena, Lenora, 
and Edmond, and a strong sentiment already exists for the establishment of a county 
high school, which should come, and doubtless will, in the near future. The people 
of Norton county are fully alive to the cause of education, giving it the first place 
in their support, and, as a result of this, her teachers and her schools rank among the 
best in the State. The newspapers of the county cheerfully bear their part, and 
space is always granted for the publication of any matter that may assist in for- 
warding the interest of the schools. 

Thus, 20 years after the organization of the county, our educational institutions 
have grown from four to 113; their valuation from a few dollars to $90,700, with an 
annual outlay of $36,587.24, not including the income from the State school fund. 
As other statistics will be given under a separate head, we desire to call attention to 
a few general statements regarding the condition of our rural and village schools at 
the present time: Oronoque has a fine school of 50 pupils. Edmond has a large, 
two-story frame building, at present employing two teachers, having an enrollment 
of about 80; the principal, Prof. R. D. Emery, is an experienced educator, and well 
known as an institute worker. Densmore has a flourishing school of 40 boys and 
girls; the teacher, Mr. Porter, is one of our oldest and best instructors. Calvert 
schools are among the flourishing schools of the county. 

Our rural schools are in excellent condition. Probably, with one exception, all 
are able to support four months of school. Some of them number 50 pupils. Many 
of our rural teachers are men and women of large experience. 

This report would be incomplete without a word or two regarding the growth of 
the normal institute. In 1879, Miss Ida Alhborn conducted the first institute held 
in Norton county. From the first the county institute has been a success. The at- 
tendance has increased until the enrollment has reached 145 members. 

The enthusiasm gained at the summer institute is kept alive during the winter 
by the county teachers' association, which now numbers among its members more 
than 40 per cent, of our teaching force. The association maintains a teachers' li- 



Norton County. 179 

brary. This is well equipped with the latest and best books on the subject of teach- 
ing, as well as on current history and science. 

Long may the institute and the association live and prosper in their good work. 

The following figures, compiled by J. H. Simmons, have been taken from the an- 
nual report of the superintendent of schools of Norton county for the school year 
of 1891-'92: Number of males between 5 and 21 years, 1,833; number of females be- 
tween 5 and 21 years, 1,651; average daily attendance, males, 897; average daily at- 
tendance, females, 890; number of organized districts, 113; number of schoolrooms, 
122; average school term, weeks, 20.3; value of school property, $90,700; total salary 
paid for teaching, $18,724; bonded indebtedness, $84,413; total amount expended 
for school purposes, $35,023.40; balance on hand by district treasurers, $6,040.89. 

Norton City Schools.* — Early in the spring of 1872, a settlement was com- 
menced in the valley of Prairie Dog creek. The county was organized in 1872, 
and school district No. 1 was christened soon after. The first board was: W. D. Jar- 
vis, director ;.W. B. Jones, clerk, and N. H. Billings, treasurer. 

In 1874, the first school was taught by J. H. Simmons, who was, in 1877, elected 
county superintendent. The place where pupils were directed to assemble was in a 
part dugout, part log building, in the southeast part of the present town. 

In 1877, a frame house in the northeast part of the city was built and was used 
until 1880, when a two-story frame store was hired and occupied. 

In 1881, the present site was bought, and a four-room, two-story building erected. 
This becoming too small, the present brick structure was built in 1889. We now 
look to our school as the pride of our city. The location being sightly, and the 
building fairly well built, it adds much to the looks of our town. 

Among our many excellent teachers, we take pleasure in mentioning the follow- 
ing: Columbus Borin, now editor of the Oberlin Opinion; Call. Newell, at present 
register of deeds, Norton county; Messrs. Wallace and Hiles, now attorneys at law; 
J. H. Simmons, at present statistician in the auditor's office of the Atchison, Topeka 
& Santa Fe" railroad system, Topeka; Prof. D. C. Nutting, Reserve; Dr. J. H. Ely, 
Hailey city schools, Idaho, and H. M. Culter, the present efficient principal. 

Under its present management, the school employs eight teachers, and has an en- 
rollment of 384. The course of study has been prepared to the end that graduates 
may step into the first year's work of the State University, at Lawrence. 

Our schoolhouse is heated with steam, and well equipped with apparatus. The 
library is well furnished with works on travel, history, science, works of reference, 
and standard literature. One of the new features in contemplation is the addition 
of a teachers' normal course. This will be adapted especially to the needs of those 
who cannot attend our State Normal School or other normal institutions. 

Last, but by no means least, we, like our sister villages, salute the rising and set- 
ting sun with our nation's banner, and, as we catch inspiration from its folds, we, 
too, exclaim: "God bless the flag; let it float and fill the sky with its beauty." 

Lenora School.t — Within a few years after the first settler came to Norton 
county, school districts had begun to be common and to multiply. Among the first 
to be organized is what is now district No. 12, or the Lenora graded school. 

The district was organized September 1, 1877, and included the then Spring City 
and about 40 square miles of the surrounding country. 

A. S. Burroughs, director; G. W. Hood, clerk; and C. H. Lansing, treasurer, con- 
stituted the first district board. 

During the same winter, a three-months school was taught in her own house by 

* By Samuel Means, Norton, Kas. 
fBy O. M. Beokeb, principal. 



ISO History of Education in Kansas. 

Airs. S. A. Burroughs, wife of the director. Though the district was large in area, 
there were but few settlers and proportionately fewer children, and, as Spring City 
w;is but an aggregation of about half a dozen log and sod shanties, occupied by as 
many families, and of only one store and a shop, the school was that winter a small 
one, the enrollment being about 12 pupils. 

The following winter, 0. J. Burwell taught for three months, in a small log shanty 
outside the town, a school of about 15 pupils. 

It was not until 1879 that the district owned a schoolhouse. Late that year, the 
Spring City Company, a mercantile organization, having built a new store, do- 
nated to the district the old store building. From this was evolved a schoolhouse. 
The 20x26-foot hewed-log frame was covered with a new earth roof, fitted with a new 
board floor, and made ready for occupancy by being furnished with several board 
benches. By the light straggling in from the one rear and two front windows, Ed- 
ward Hugel taught 25 or 30 boys and girls. 

In the winter of 1883, the town (which had been incorporated as Lenora) had 
grown so that the crowded condition of the school, then taught by George J. Mc- 
Daniels, and having an enrollment of nearly 50, indicated the necessity of a new 
and larger building. In the spring of the following year, bonds to the amount of 
$3,000 were voted, and in time for school that autumn the hill of the town was 
crowned with a large, four-room frame schoolhouse. Geo. J. McDaniels, principal, 
and Miss Sadie Funkhouser, primary, were the first teachers. 

N. H. Billings, Miss R. D. Kiner, T. F. Redmond, Miss Melissa Van Cleave and 
S. Elta George were successively principals. 

When Miss Kiner left the school, at the end of two and a half years, she left an 
institution that was the pride of the town and of the cofinty as well. No teacher, 
perhaps, ever had a more powerful influence over pupils or did more for them. 

The school, now in charge of 0. M. Becker, principal ; Mrs. Anna Pugh, interme- 
diate; and Miss Mary Wills, primary, had on January 25, 1893, an enrollment of 110, 
eight of whom were taking the first year's work of the high-school course. The 
present course of study provides for nine years of common-school and two years of 
high-school work. 

With the stars and stripes daily floating from its highest point, may the Lenora 
school ever be, as now, an object of pride and first interest to every citizen, and an 
inspiration to better living for our youth. 

Almena Schools.* — Almena, district No. 2, was organized in 1873. The first 
school was taught by J. B. Shepard, afterward editor of the Almena Plaindealer, in 
the fall of 1873. As the records have been destroyed, it is not possible to give with 
any degree of accuracy its early history. Almena's school has numbered among its 
teachers many prominent men and women, viz.: Prof. N. Clair, of Illinois; Mrs. 
Sullivan, of Lincoln; Mrs. Curry, Norton; Prof. J. B. Bailey, Denver; F. H. Baker, 
present county superintendent; and Mrs. E. E. Evans, of Oronoque, a graduate of 
the Salina Business College, and the present enterprising principal of Almena 
schools. 

At present, the work requires the aid of three teachers, the enrollment being 
about 150. The school has been made the custodian of the "Happy Thought" li- 
brary, a donation from a Vermont lady, numbering in the neighborhood of 500 
volumes of the choicest literature. The apparatus, as far as it goes, is first class. 
" Old Glory," from his flag staff on the building, teaches his daily lessons of patriot- 
ism and devotion, love and liberty. We are justly proud of our institution, the 
common school. 



By F. H. Bakek, county superintendent. 



Pratt County. 181 



PEATT COUNTY.* 

Prior to the year 1879, Pratt county was attached to Reno county for judicial 
purposes. Under this temporary arrangement, A. A. Axline was appointed deputy 
county superintendent, and E. R. Morgan and O. L. Peak, associate examiners. 

The first school in the county was taught at Iuka, by Miss Laura Long. It was 
held in a small frame building built for a store. The teacher's wages were paid by 
subscription, and amounted to about $15 per month. 

The first schoolhouse in the county was very small, built at the above place by 
private donations, and was afterward sold to the district. Later, bonds were voted, 
and a frame building of two rooms erected, with a view of raising the roof and adding 
two rooms above when needed. 

The second schoolhouse was built at Haynesville, in the northeast part of the 
county. It was constructed of sod, because of the great inconvenience in getting 
lumber, which had to be freighted from Hutchinson, a distance of 60 miles. During 
the early history of the county, most of the schoolhouses were built of sod; many of 
them being very comfortable, plastered inside, and fairly well furnished with seats 
and benches. Some of the leading teachers of the county at present received in- 
struction and a certain degree of inspiration in these temporary sod buildings. At 
present, there are no sod schoolhouses in the county. 

The first county superintendent was A. H. Hubbs, elected with other county offi- 
cers at a special election held September 2, 1879, for the perfecting of the county 
organization, since which time the office has been held by the following gentlemen, 
in their order respectively: J. J. Wagoner, O. L. Peak, A. A. Axline, and S. P. Geb- 
hart, the last named being the present incumbent, and serving his third term. 

There were, in 1882, 21 organized districts, but only eight school buildings, some 
of the schools being taught in private houses, there being but 15 schools maintained 
a part of the school year. At that time the school population of the county was 
506, and the average wages paid teachers was: Males, $22; females, $15.53. At 
present, January, 1893, the school population of the county, i. e., between the ages of 
5 and 21 years, is 3,034. The number of organized districts is 82; teachers em- 
ployed, 92, at a salary ranging from $30 to $100 per month, averaging as follows: 
Males, $45; females, $35. 

There are good school buildings, and graded schools with courses of study, at the 
following towns in the county: Preston, Cullison, Saratoga, and Iuka. The schools 
of the county are in a flourishing condition. Quite a number of pupils graduate 
from the country schools every year and enter the Pratt high school, college, or some 
foreign institution of learning. 

Pratt City Schools. — The city of Pratt was founded in April, 1884, and or- 
ganized as a district the following summer. The town grew very rapidly, and in 
October of that year a primary school was opened by Mrs. Eva J. Caldwell. In No- 
vember, the higher department began, under the management of C. R. Caldwell. 
These schools were conducted during the winter, the teachers laboring under many 
disadvantages. There were from 60 to 80 pupils in each department, who were from 
all quarters, of all grades, and with all kinds of books. The schools were held in 
halls on Main street with chairs for seats,, and no desks, maps, or apparatus, more 
than a poorly-painted wooden blackboard, about 3x6 feet. During the summer of 
1885, a two-story frame building of six rooms was erected and equipped, at a cost 
of $7,000. By fall there were pupils enough for three departments, and the school 



! By S. P. Gebhart, county superintendent. 



182 History of Education in Kansas. 

opened with L. C. Miller as principal. The following year, Prof. W. H. Wasson was 
engaged as principal, and ably filled the position for four years, when Prof. J. A. 
Butcher was called to the position, which he still occupies. 

Two more schoolhouses have since been built, and at present 10 teachers are em- 
ployed, with an increasing demand for more. An excellent course of study has been 
adopted. The high-school course comprises Latin, geometry, botany, geology, 
chemistry, and other branches, to graduate from which prepares students for the 
State University. 

The Southwestern Business College was established at Pratt during the 
summer of 1891, with Robt. Anderson as president and Prof. J. R. Startzell as man- 
ager. Instruction is given in shorthand, typewriting, telegraphy, bookkeeping, and 
such other branches as are taught in commercial schools. Several students have 
already become quite proficient in stenography and typewriting, and have at once 
stepped into paying positions. 

The Baptist College. — In the summer of 1891, arrangements were made by 
the South Central Baptist Association of Kansas and the citizens of Pratt for the 
establishment of a college in the city. The services of Prof. J. S. Gashwiler were 
secured as president, and the college was formally opened September 14 of the same 
year. They have a good, two-story frame building, which was donated by the city, 
well furnished, and a faculty of experienced teachers. The first year the success of 
the college was beyond the expectations of the most sanguine. The second year 
began with very flattering prospects, and there is still a steady increase in the en- 
rollment of pupils from southwestern Kansas. 

The course provides for eight years' work; the first four years covering the com- 
mon-school branches, and the last four an academic course, viz.: English, natural 
science, and classical and modern languages. Special attention is given to the de- 
partments of art and music. Another object of the college is, to afford a theolog- 
ical training for young men preparing for the ministry. 



EENO COUNTY. 



The educational history of Reno county began almost simultaneously with the 
founding of the city of Hutchinson. The first school in the county dates from Jan- 
uary 15, 1872. This was a three-months term taught by Miss Jennie Hodgson. 
The building in which this school was taught was one of the first 12 houses built in 
Hutchinson. It was a wooden structure situated on the west side of Main street, on 
the third lot south of Sherman street. The building had been put up for a meat 
shop, but had not been completed when it was let for school purposes. It being a 
cold winter, and the house in an unfinished condition, the pupils and teacher experi- 
enced no little difficulty in keeping warm. The teacher received $20 per month and 
house rent free. The money was raised by subscription. Miss Hodgson is still a 
resident of this county; her home is three miles west of Hutchinson. Of those who 
attended that school, but few are now residents of this county f namely: Mr. M. Jor- 
don, harness maker, Turon; Mr. Bert Jordon, clerk at Santa Fe depot, Hutchinson; 
and Mrs. Charlie Rowe, Hutchinson. Mrs. Rowe's maiden name was Miss Ollie 
Miller. 

In the summer of 1872, school district No. 1, Reno county, was organized, with 
the following officers: Director, D. M. Lewis; clerk, J. M. Jordan; and treasurer, E. 
Wilcox. In the fall of 1872 was begun the first school after the organization of the 
district. A Mr. Lane began the school, but, not being master of the situation, 



•.'■■-"* : . 








' Ai 








a ^lL# 










Jf^ 


s 


e^*V^, 


ii 




! 


t 


H' ... 1. 


- 1.-. f 


I:;'.-: 


4o'if ; 


- r 








11 - 


■■ I i' 1 


** '"' ... 






,L t 


i * 


rpii; .. .«.., .^™*fc* "1. 


■ i ij 






RHBifr '''" " 









HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING, HUTCHINSON, 





C. P. DAWSON, 

County Superintendent, Reno county. 



S. W. HILL, 
Hutchinson. 



Reno County. 183 

taught only six weeks and then resigned. Mr. J. R. Lindsay taught the remainder 
of the term, four and one-half months. There were 80 pupils enrolled in the school. 
At the close of the first school year, August 31, 1873, the school population of district 
No. 1 was 223 pupils. Persons of school age in district No. 1, city of Hutchinson, 
in 1892, were 2,494. 

The first election in the county was held in the spring of 1872, at which time Mr. 
W. E. Hutchinson was elected county superintendent. Mr. Hutchinson was only 
about 23 years old at that time. He is a second cousin to Hon. C. C. Hutchinson, the 
founder of the city. Mr. Hutchinson soon resigned, and Alexander Lynch was ap- 
pointed his successor. Messrs. J. R. Lindsay and W. E. Hutchinson have continued 
from that time to this ardent supporters of the public schools and influential citi- 
zens in the county. 

Mr. Taylor Flick was elected county superintendent at the regular election in 
November, 1872. At this time the county was being settled up very rapidly, and 
during Mr. Flick's term of office more than 60 districts were organized. In 1873, 
school bonds were worth 82 cents on the dollar. Since the expiration of Mr. Flick's 
term of office, the following persons have served Reno county as county superin- 
tendent of public instruction: J. P. Cassedy, two years; J. W. Kanaga, four years; E. 
L. Jewell, four years; Eli Payne, four years; C. P.White, two years; Sam. W. Hill, 
two years; and Chas. P. Dawson, the present incumbent. In 1874, when Mr. Cas- 
sedy was elected, there were three candidates for the position of county superin- 
tendent. A canvass of the vote showed* the following result: J. P. Cassedy, 253; 
Miss Frescoln, 246; Eugene De Burn, 236. 

The following is taken from Superintendent Flick's first annual report to the 
State Superintendent, October 15, 1873: "At the commencement of the present 
school year there was not a schoolhouse in this ( Reno) county, and but five organ- 
ized districts. We now have 41 organized districts and 16 frame buildings finished, 
costing an estimated average of $800 each, with four others of the same character 
under process of erection. In addition to this, there is being erected by the school 
board of district No. 1, city of Hutchinson, a fine brick and stone schoolhouse, at a 
cost of $15,000. The walls are yearly finished, and the building will be ready for oc- 
cupancy by January 1. In a report of this kind there is no place for boasting, 
but I think we shall be allowed to feel proud over such results." 

Superintendent Cassedy's annual report for 1875 contains this statement: "I find 
that the feeling on education in my county is much better and more hopeful than it 
was a year ago, and we may confidently look for far greater results next year." 

Superintendent Hill's annual report for 1892 contains some interesting statistics, 
from which the following are taken: Number of organized districts, 155; school 
population, males 4,833, females 4,542, total 9,375; enrollment, males 3,839, females 
3,621, total 7,460; average daily attendance, males 2,462, females 2,427, total 4,889; 
number of different teachers employed, males 93, females 128, total 221; average 
salary of teachers per month, males $41.59, females $39.84; average length of school 
year, 6i months; estimated value of school property, $214,965; teachers' certificates 
granted, 239; average age of persons receiving certificates, 22 years. 

From the beginning of the first school in this county, education has received a 
liberal support from its people, and whatever could be done to further the educa- 
tional interests of the county was done. 

To Superintendent Payne is credit due for the introduction of the classification 
register. In 1885, he succeeded in having Welch's Register placed in each school 
district in the county, and from that time dates the beginning of a closer classifica- 
tion of the country schools. Closely following the introduction of the classification 
register was the adoption of a uniform series of text-books for the schools of the 



184 History of Education in Kansas. 

county. County uniformity was adopted in 1889, during the time Mr. White was 
county superintendent. 

In the summer of 1892, Superintendent Hill prepared a 32-page manual and 
course of study for the country schools. One of these manuals was given to each 
teacher, and one given to each district officer in the county, with additional manuals 
placed in the schoolhouses for the use of the pupils. 

For several years the sentiment has been growing in favor of grading the rural 
schools. With the classification register, a uniform series of text-books, and, now, 
with this manual, and an able corps of teachers in sympathy with its plan and what 
it is intended to accomplish, we shall be able to place our schools on a higher plane. 
Having been associated with the school interests of Reno county for 15 years, we 
know something of its educational growth and the energy and enthusiasm of its 
teachers, and, not being egotistical, we believe that the schools of this county com- 
pare favorably with those of the other counties of the State; however, we do not 
claim that our ideal has been reached. 

The buildings of our district schools are generally good, substantial frame ones, 
with a few brick buildings and one stone house. The villages have fine school- 
houses. South Hutchinson's schoolhouse is a beautiful two-story brick building 
with four rooms. Arlington has a fine three-room brick building. This school is 
well attended and graded properly. Turon, Sylvia and Partridge have frame build- 
ings. 

It was during the time that Mr. KanagS was county superintendent that the first 
normal institute was held in the county. This institute was held in the summer of 
1877. It began July 16, and continued in session four weeks. The conductor was 
B. S. Hoagland, and the instructors were Miss Jennie McKinstry and L. J. Templin. 
On the evening of July 19, State Supt. A. B. Lemmon lectured to the institute on 
the subject, "Our Educational Problem." 

The enrollment was 50. Of that number the following live in Reno county at 
the present time: Misses Ella Rea, Jennie Woodson, Minnie Hale, Lucy Meyer, Elma 
Templin, Nettie Wilcox, Mrs. L. B. George, and Mr. Ed. M. Moore. Mr. R. M. Eas- 
ley was a member of this institute. 

The Interior, of July 19, 1877, speaks of the opening of the first institute in Reno 
county in the following language: "A brief visit yesterday to the normal institute, 
now in session in our city, reminds us of " Old Vassar," at Poughkeepsie, where 
bright eyes and etymology, smiles and syntax, music and mathematics, loveliness 
and Latin, gravity and grammar, beauty and botany assimilate in a promiscuous, 
fascinating way." 

The following are those who have conducted institutes in Reno county: B. S. 
Hoagland, 1877; E. Miller, 1878; J. R. Campbell, 1879; Mrs. Clara Hoffman, 1880; 
J. J. McBride, 1881; L. G. A. Copley, 1882; Geo. W. Winans, 1883-'84; F. S. Prigg, 
1885; Eli Payne, 1886; J. W. Cooper, 1887-'88; J. W. Quay, 1889-'90; Mrs. L. H. 
Picker, 1891; W. S. Picken, 1892. 

The largest number enrolled in any one institute was 216, in 1890. Normal in- 
stitutes have done a great deal of good in this county. Teachers have become bet- 
ter qualified for their work, and, in turn, the educational standard has been raised. 
About 90 per cent, of the teachers attend the institutes, i. e., the teachers of the 
country schools. Of the city teachers, about 10 per cent, attend the institutes. Dis- 
trict officers, in employing teachers, as a rule give those the preference who attend 
the institutes. Those teachers who do not attend the institutes and associations 
soon fall behind and drop out of the work. 

For the past eight years, in this county, we have had very successful teachers' 
associations. During that time several plans were tried, and the one that has given 



Reno County. 185 

the most general satisfaction, and that has proved the most successful, is what is 
known as the "monthly-meeting" plan; that is, the meetings of the county teachers' 
association are held monthly, from September to April, inclusive. In addition to 
the county meetings, township associations were organized. These were called ed- 
ucational meetings, in which teachers, patrons and pupils participated. 

Since the organization of the Kansas teachers' reading circle, the Reno county 
association and the reading circle have been united, and have been carried on un- 
der one organization, following the general plan previously pursued by the associa- 
tion. 

In the summer of 1892, during the institute, the superintendent suggested the 
idea of holding an old-fashioned spelling school, to which a small admission fee 
should be charged, and that the money raised in this way should be invested in 
books for a teachers' library. The "spelling bee" was held and over $50 raised. 
With this money professional books were purchased. By purchase and donation, 
about 150 volumes were secured, which served as a nucleus for a valuable library. 

Quite a number of the districts have voted a library tax and purchased books 
for the children to read. In some districts, entertainments have been given for the 
benefit of district libraries. Teachers and patrons are becoming interested in the 
reading of our young, and are encouraging the founding of district libraries. 

In the city of Hutchinson are published three bright and newsy school papers. 
The School Visitor, now in its second year, is published by the county superintend- 
ent, C. P. Dawson, in the interest of the schools of the county. It is taken by all 
the teachers and school officers. It contains general educational news of the county, 
and serves as a medium by which the county superintendent communicates his plans 
to his officers and teachers. The School Phoenix is published by and in the interest 
of the city high school. It is edited by the senior class; Mr. M. V. Watson is chief 
editor. The Pen Art Educator is a journal published by the normal and business 
college. Prin. J. L. Williams is the editor. It is the only paper in the State pub- 
lished in the interest of penmanship. Its circulation is not local; it has found its 
way into nearly all the cities of the State, and into many of the cities of other 
States. These three journals are monthly papers. 

In the spring of 1887 was held the first examination of the pupils of this county 
for the purpose of showing a completion of the common school course. Every year 
since then, common-school examinations have been given. These examinations and 
graduations have proven satisfactory incentives to induce pupils to be more thor- 
ough and systematic in their school work. 

The county superintendent and his associate examiners prepare the questions. 
The examination is held in March or April, on a day that will suit the greatest num- 
ber of schools. The superintendent appoints examining committees, two teachers 
on each committee, to conduct the examination at the different places he has previ- 
ously designated. The committees forward to the superintendent the manuscripts 
of the applicants. Manuscripts are graded by the examining board. The first year 
an examination was held, only nine students received diplomas. Since then, the 
number has been growing larger each year. In 1892, 59 passed the required exami- 
nation and received diplomas. 

The majority of the common-school graduates have been able to get third-grade 
certificates. Two hundred and thiity-eight students have graduated from the county 
schools, and received common-school diplomas. 

Perhaps it would be of great local interest to know who have been our county 
superintendents, and where they now are: W. E. Hutchinson, Hutchinson, Kas., 
banker; Taylor Flick, Oklahoma City, 0. T., lawyer; J. P. Cassedy, Ouray, Colo., 
business; J. W. Kanaga, Hutchinson, Kas., grocer; E. L. Jewell, Hammond, La., oc- 



186 History of Education in Kansas. 

cupation unknown; Eli Payne, Emporia, Kas., member faculty of State Normal; 
C. P. White, Evansville, Ind., insurance; Sam. W. Hill, Hutchinson, Kas., in normal 
and business college. 

City Schools — In this county are two cities of the second class, that have 
most excellent school advantages. 

Hutchinson has seven elegant school buildings — three are stone, and four are 
brick. In the course of study for the schools of this city, a high-school course is 
provided, to complete which requires three years. In the high school are three 
courses: College preparatory, Latin-English, and English-scientific. 

One of the most prominent city superintendents of Hutchinson was Supt. H. C. 
Minnich, who served four years. He resigned November 1, 1892, to accept a more 
lucrative position in Ohio. Mr. H. S. Rogers is the superintendent of the city 
schools at present. Number of teachers required, 38; graduates of high school, 83; 
enrollment for 1892-'93, 2,200; value of school property, $100,000. 

Nickerson has two large brick school buildings. In this school, there is above 
the eighth year's work a high-school course, which requires three years additional to 
complete. Nine teachers are required. Mr. L. S. Bailey is serving his second year 
as city superintendent. 

Private Schools. — Under this head, there is but one school in Reno county. 
The Arkansas Valley Business and Normal College is located at Hutchinson. This 
college was opened in June, 1892, by J. L. Williams, principal of the college, who 
has charge of the business department. Mr. Sam. W. Hill has later become identified 
with the college, and is "superintendent of the normal department. 



EICE COUNTY.* 



The school system of Rice county had its beginning during the autumn and 
winter of 1871-'72. 

On November 7, 1871, at a general election of the county, in which 98 votes were 
cast, E. C. Jones, who was also deputy county surveyor, and practically in charge of 
that office, was elected superintendent of public instruction for the county. He pro- 
ceeded to organize the county into 26 school districts, only five of which were able 
to have any school during the winter of 1871-'72. The next year the population had 
increased, and 253 votes were cast. R. D. Stephenson was elected, and began at 
once to lecture in different parts of the county, urging upon the people the necessity 
of making the schoolhouse "the center of attraction, the band of social union, and 
the progenitor of material, social and moral worth." His energy and faithfulness 
were not appreciated, and in 1874, J. Frazier was elected to succeed him. I find no 
records throwing any light upon the next two years. The population was rapidly 
increasing, and the organization of municipal towns and of townships seems to have 
absorbed the attention of the people. 

In November, 1876, R. D. Stephenson was again elected. At this election, 814 
votes were polled. Mr. Stephenson now seems to have taken up the matter of more 
thorough organization of the schools, and founded the first teachers' association of 
the county, and striven to inspire the teachers with a professional spirit. Tradition 
says that this association held a four-days session, December 25-29, 1876, which is, 
in a sense, the beginning of the Rice county teachers' institute. At this meeting, 
Mr. Stephenson gave valuable instruction on the theory and art of teaching, while 

*By Jacob Zebxie. 



Rice County. 187 

Mrs. Nancy E. Harley, the secretary and treasurer of the association, gave lessons 
in the best methods of teaching the branches then enumerated in the common- 
school course. Mrs. Harley thinks that this association held another long session 
during the holidays of 1877, but I am unable to learn any particluars concerning 
the session. 

During Mr. Stephenson's second term, the number of school districts was more 
than doubled, and many districts built schoolhouses. 

Mr. Stephenson, recognizing the unwritten law, refused to be a candidate for a 
third term. He was succeeded by the efficient secretary of the association, Mrs. 
Harley. She went to work with all the energy of her noble soul. She was a born 
educator, an ardent student, and a faithful friend. 

"But to know her was to love her." 

She died during her incumbency, a martyr, as many believe, to her faithfulness, 
leaving to her children, three of whom are now teaching in this county, that best of 
legacies, a hallowed memory. 

At her death, April 24, 1879, the county commissioners appointed C. W. Silver, a 
merchant of Lyons, to fill the vacancy until the next general election, and in No- 
vember, 1879, Mr. Abbott was elected to fill the remainder of the term. 

The county was now rapidly filling up, actual residents settling upon the school 
and University lands, bringing them into the market and placing them upon the 
tax list. The people now became restless, and demanded a reorganization of nearly 
all the school districts. Many petitions seem to have been presented to change 
boundaries, organize districts, etc. In 1880, J. K. Farrar, one of Sterling's efficient 
teachers, was elected to superintend the schools. 

The first teachers' normal institute of which I can find any record was held at 
Lyons in 1881. W. G. Hamrick, principal of the Sterling schools, was conductor, 
and H. Silver instructor. This institute seems to have furnished a course of four 
weeks, limited strictly to the three Us., English grammar, and geography. There 
were 51 teachers in attendance. 

The normal of 1882 was held at Lyons. J. P. Bickerdyke was the conductor, and 
C. M. Balfour and Belle Larrimore were the instructors. 

In November, J. K. Farrar was reelected with very little opposition, and secured, 
for the normal of 1883, H. A. McClean as conductor, and C. A. Weaver and Miss An- 
nie Carll as instructors. The attendance at this institute contained a much larger 
number of women teachers than did that of former ones, and a large number of the 
pupils of Lyons high school were also enrolled. The course of study by the State 
school board was more closely followed, and the normal was pronounced a decided 
success by all competent judges. 

Up to this time, the office of county superintendent of public instruction appears 
to have been nonpartisan, the teachers' favorite being indorsed by the political con- 
vention. 

The normal of 1884 was conducted by Miss Annie Carll, with Miss M. B. Brown 
and Mrs. A. W. Sollitt as instructors. At its close, resolutions were adopted fa- 
voring (1) longer terms of county certificates; (2) uniform list of questions through- 
out the State; (3) that first-grade teachers have their certificates reissued, upon 
proof of having been engaged in active school work, and of having been examined 
in at least three additional studies to those appearing upon the certificate. The 
first two of these, meeting the approbation of our leading educators, were soon en- 
acted into law. The third, and, as we believe, most important, was opposed by the 
faculties of our State institutions, and rejected. This law would have given the 
country teachers, who are taking advantage of the county normals, an opportunity 
to secure a professional certificate, thus, giving our better teachers an incentive 



188 History of Education in Kansas. 

to attend the normals, not only benefiting the teachers themselves, but also greatly- 
increasing the efficiency of the county normal institutes. 

Rev. J. B. Schlichter was chosen superintendent in 1884. Mr. E. E. Hubbell con- 
ducted the normal of 1885, and Annie Carll and Mrs. A. W. Sollitt were instructors. 
In 1886, E. E. Hubbell was conductor, and I. N. McCash and S. P. Nold were instruct- 
ors. This normal was held at Sterling. Mr. Nold made quite a reputation as an 
elocutionist. 

In 1886, Mrs. May Terry Luce was elected superintendent. She was a practical 
teacher, and was well liked by the teachers and patrons of the schools. 

I. N. McCash conducted, and A. Docking and S. P. Nold instructed, in the insti- 
tute of 1887. 

I. N. McCash conducted, and S. B. Todd instructed, in the normal of 1888. 

In November, J. H. McBride was elected superintendent. 

J. N. Wilkinson conducted, and Jennie H. Brazil and S. B. Todd instructed, in 
the normal of 1889. 

C Y. Roop conducted, and W.'S. Slough and Chas. Vickrey instructed, in 1890. 

The Republicans were beaten this year, and Mrs. Jennie Smith, People's Party 
candidate, was elected. 

W. S. Slough conducted, and H. G. Woodrow and E. B. Bachelor instructed, in 
the normal of 1891. 

Supt. J. W. Quay, conductor, and B. M. Southgate and Miss Ida M. Hodgdon, in- 
structors, were the faculty of the normal of 1892. 

Cooper Memorial" College.*— In the spring of 1886, a number of business 
men organized the Sterling Land and Investment Company. This company platted 
what is known as the " College Addition to Sterling," and decided to erect a college 
building upon a site of 10 acres in the addition, donated by Mr. Pliny F. Axtell for 
that purpose. In October of the same year, the company offered the site and build- 
ing to the United Presbyterian Synod of Kansas, era condition that the synod endow, 
operate and maintain the college. This offer was accepted October 7, with the pro- 
viso that five years be allowed in which to raise the endowment fund of $25,000. 
The company accepted the condition made by the synod, and on October 22 a con- 
tract was drawn up between the company and synod's committee. This contract 
was signed on the part of the investment company by J. H. Ricksecker, president, 
and W. H. Page, secretary. The committee of the synod were: Rev. J. O. Campbell, 
Rev. H. T. Ferguson, J. L. Acheson, and J. O. Stow. 

A charter was prepared on the same date. By this charter, the control of the 
college is vested in a college senate, composed of seven trustees and 14 directors, 
chosen by the synod. The name "Cooper Memorial" was given to the college in 
honor of the late Rev. Jos. T. Cooper, D. D., LL. D., of Allegheny, Pa., a man loved 
and honored in his church. 

The senate named by the charter met in Sterling in July, 1887, and in Americus 
in October. At these meetings, teachers were elected, a partial curriculum was pre- 
pared, and direction was given that the school be opened November 1, 1887. Ac- 
cordingly, the doors were opened to students on that day, with a corps of teachers 
consisting of A. N. Porter, acting president and professor of mathematics and Eng- 
lish literature, S. A. Wilson, professor of languages, and Miss Flora Harriman, in- 
structor in music. Mr. E. B. Cowgill taught a class in mathematics for a short 
time, at the first, but press of other business forced him to relinquish it. 

The story of the first few years is one of doubts and struggles. At times it 
seemed as though the enterprise must be abandoned. There were special difficul- 

*By S. A. Wilson, A. M., professor of Latin and Greek languages. 



Bice County. 189 

ties to meet. The college began work]Vithout a dollar of cash on hand to meet 
current expenses, and, during these years of beginning, but very little money was 
available for carrying on the work. Several efforts were made to secure a presi- 
dent, but they did not succeed, until the election of Dr. F. M. Spencer, a former 
president of Muskingum College, Ohio. Doctor Spencer accepted, and was inaugu- 
rated September 4, 1889. Under his administration, the history of the college has 
been one of uninterrupted growth in all that goes to make a college a success. The 
number of students has steadily increased, new departments have been added, ad- 
ditional teachers have been employed, and all college classes and departments have 
been fully organized. Under efficient financial agents, the endowment required was 
raised, and, on the 7th of October, 1891, with appropriate exercises, the deed to the 
site and building was transferred to the synod, under whose control it is. The first 
class was graduated June 8, 1892. 

The art department was organized at the beginning of the second college year, 
by Miss Alice M. Brown, who is still at the head of the department. By the energy 
infused by Miss Brown, and by the hearty cooperation of the citizens, Sterling is be- 
coming something of an art center, for Kansas. Miss Brown has given a number of 
art receptions, at which her own and her pupils' work have been open to general in- 
spection. These receptions have always brought credit to the department. 

The business department was organized September, 1889, under Mr. W. G. Hous- 
ton and Mr. W. S. Liston. In February, 1890, Mr. Houston resigned, to accept work 
elsewhere, and the department has since been in charge of Mr. Liston and his as- 
sistants. 

Miss Flora Harriman continued instructor of music from the opening of the col- 
lege until her death, December 4, 1890. Mr. S. W. Yan Deman now has charge of 
that department. 

Prof. A. N. Porter, who had given three years to the college in the most critical 
part of its life, and to whom it is largely indebted for its present existence, gave up 
the work to study theology, and the professorship of mathematics has since been 
filled by Prof. G. A. Gordon. 

The list of teachers at the present time, September, 1892, is as follows: Rev. F. M. 
Spencer, D.D., president; S. A.Wilson, A.M., professor of Latin and Greek; G. A. 
Gordon, A.B., professor of mathematics; Alice M. Brown, lady principal and in- 
structor in art; W. S. Liston, principal of commercial department; S. W. Van Deman, 
director of music; Anna Kern, instructor in French and German; Talmon Bell and 
Lena Porter, instructors in normal branches. 

Rev. R. J. Thompson was the first financial agent, and secured $1,700 of the 
endowment. Dr. W. M. Ewing followed, securing some $6,700. The work of com- 
pleting the $25,000 was then undertaken by Rev. W. L. Garges, and brought to a 
successful conclusion. Rev. H. T. Jackson rendered efficient aid during the last three 
months of the time. No sketch of the college would be complete unless reference 
were made to the many friends East and West who have so willingly contributed of 
their means toward raising the endowment. Special credit is due to Rev. Alex. 
Young, D. D., of Parnassus, Pa., and Mr. William McOracken, of Sunny Dale, Kas., 
for large contributions. 

The college stands in a campus of 10 acres. The building is 120 feet front, 50 feet 
deep, and three stories high. The entire structure is built of Strong City limestone, 
and is one of the finest college buildings in Kansas. Its chapel and recitation rooms 
are large, well lighted, well finished, and especially adapted for carrying on college 
work. Several hundred trees have been planted on the campus. Sterling is a "for- 
est city," admirably located as a seat of a higher institution of learning. 

President Spencer was born at Cedarville, Ohio, February 23, 1842. He was 



190 History of Education in Kansas. 

brought up on his father's farm, having the usual common-school advantages of 
rural districts. In 1865, he entered Westminster College, graduating in the class of 
1868. His theological course was taken at Xenia, Ohio, graduating in 1871. He was 
pastor of a congregation at Leavenworth, Kas., until 1879, when he was called to the 
presidency of Muskingum College. He held this position for seven years. Under 
his management the college increased in numbers until it reached the highest en- 
rollment it ever had. By his efforts an endowment was raised also. The degree of 
doctor of divinity was conferred upon him in 1886. Doctor Spencer has proved him- 
self a fine scholar and an able educator. The faculty and teachers associated with 
him are experienced in their work. The college under their care, with its building, 
its endowment, and its field of work, is developing into an institution worthy of the 
man whose name it bears, worthy of the progressive commonwealth in which it is 
located, and, above all, worthy of its expressed mission as a Christian educator. 



RILEY COUNTY. 



No history of this county was prepared by the proper officer. The his- 
tory of Manhattan, its principal city, was written by City Supt. George D. 
Knipe. 

Manhattan Schopls. — The school history of the city, like its church history, 
is a large part of the record of the locality. Like many another town in Kansas, 
Manhattan began as a city. The plat of the site was lithographed in Cincinnati be- 
fore it was surveyed, and school locations were indicated and reserved in the plat. 
Thus education was looked after at the very beginning. 

A church society was organized by the pioneers en route, on the steamboat that 
brought them from Cincinnati, but the school had preceded them. A paragraph in 
the earliest sketches of the locality reads: "Manhattan was first settled in 1855, by 
two colonies, one from Boston, the other from Cincinnati, who commenced by build- 
ing a church and a college." 

As indicated, the plat had preceded the setters, and the school site was already 
chosen. Therefore, we may fairly divide the school history of Manhattan into two 
periods of a score of years each— the first, from 1854 to 1873 inclusive; the second, 
from 1874 to 1893 inclusive, and we will look at these periods separately. 

The educational work of the colony here was necessarily limited for several 
years. They could do but little more than to plan for the future. A school was 
first taught by Mrs. C. E. Blood at her home, about where now stands the State 
Agricultural College, then a part of the platted town site. This was in 1855-'56. 
Mrs. Blood was the wife of the pioneer Congregational preacher. In 1857, several 
citizens combined efforts, raised by pledges $45, and procured the services of Miss 
Amanda Arnold to conduct a three-months term. The building used was the town 
company's office, located then about on the site of the brick livery barn near the 
foot of Poyntz avenue. The building was a very poor affair, but Miss Arnold had 
16 names on her roll. Perhaps the only one of these pupils now in this vicinity is 
Richard Sarber, who lives just across Blue river. Among those who combined to 
sustain this school were I. T. Goodnow, Mr. Sarber, Rev. Mr. Love joy, W. Marlatt, 
Rev. Joseph Denison, Mr. Arnold, A. J. Mead, the agent of the town company, 
Dr. Amory Hunting, Geo. Miller, C. F. Briggs, and Amasa Huntress. 

In the list of teachers that followed Miss Arnold, we find the names of Miss Col- 
burn, Mr. Jenkins, Miss Newell, Mr. Pierce, and others, some of whom are yet resi- 
dents among us and well-known citizens. Mr. Jenkins was a young lawyer, a 



Riley County. 191 

disciplinarian, and is remembered by at least one of our prominent merchants, then 
a ptipil, because of a flogging administered by Jenkins. The modern sentiment 
against corporal punishment was not then in the ascendant as now. Then, teachers 
could manage a mixed school of all grades, instruct the abecedarians and the stu- 
dents of algebra equally well; construct a good pen out of a goose quill, and wield 
the birch when occasion required. 

The stone schoolhouse, which, in the year 1883, gave place to the present fine 
structure on Poyntz avenue, was built in 1857. The town company donated three 
lots, as the locations on the plat were not thought to be near enough to the center 
of population, and also gave $500 towards the building, and the contract was taken 
by Levi Woodman, for $2,500. The structure was 32x60 feet on the ground, and 
two stories high; the first story 10 feet and the second story 8 feet in the clear. It 
was by far the finest public school building west of Topeka, and placed Manhattan 
then ahead of all other towns of its size in the State, educationally, a position never 
yielded to this date. 

One room in the building was made ready for the winter term of 1857-58, and 
lawyer Jenkins held the position three months, but we have no statistics. He, how- 
ever made his mark, as the aforementioned merchant will testify. 

It was a big undertaking to pay for so costly a structure, and school bonds were 
not then in order; so the people resorted to suppers, concerts and lectures to raise 
the needed funds. It is said that on one occasion the services of I. S. Kalloch, then 
an aspiring preacher politician of Lawrence, and later the sand-lot mayor of San 
Francisco, was engaged to lecture. He had a fine lecture, for he was a master of 
language, but the people did not seem to be pleased and would not turn out, and 
the proceeds of the lecture counted up $7 only. The pressing debt then was $50, 
and a few of the projectors of the lecture scheme personally paid the debt. 

At the opening of the second period — 1874 to 1893, inclusive — the old stone 
building was the high school, and a structure of wood, now transformed into the 
double house at the corner of Fifth and Leavenworth streets, was the primary 
building, for the schools had then been graded. 

We find the school board and teachers in 1874 made up as follows, Manhattan 
being then a city of the third class: 

The board of education was: John Elliott, director; Wm. C. Johnson, clerk; J. 
E. House, treasurer. 

The teachers were: J. J. McBride, LL. B., superintendent, and principal of high 
school; J. K. Wood, A.M., grammar department; Samuel Kimble, jr., secondary de- 
partment; Miss Amanda Arnold, first primary department; Mrs. J. A. Allen, second 
primary department. 

Some idea of the condition of the schools may be obtained by the following ex- 
tracts from reports made in December, 1874: 

By the board of education: "Having visited the various departments, we are pleased to report to 
the parents that the schools are working very harmoniously, and all are doing well. . . . There is 
a class in the high school well versed in the intricacies of geometry, and another just entering the 
more difficult field of trigonometry. In all the other grades we find . . . class application and 
rapid advancement the order of the day." 

By the county superintendent: "Having just completed a thorough examination of the city 
schools, it gives me pleasure to say that they are in a highly prosperous and flourishing condition. 
. . . Too much credit cannot be given to Professor McBride and his corps of assistants for the tire- 
less energy with which they have prosecuted their work, and for the enthusiasm they have aroused in 
the pupils." 

By the Assistant State Superintendent: "The high school at Manhattan, under the direction of 
Professors McBride and Wood, is a type of the busy school, and it is no wonder that the results are so 
satisfactory. We have found that thoroughness of scholarship and rapid advancement form the rule 
and not the exception." 



192 History of Education in Kansas. 

The conclusion of this second period, in 1893, finds the school board modified by 
conformity to the law, Manhattan having become a city of the second class in 1887. 
The board of education now consists of H. P. Dow, president; W. S. Elliott, Mrs. I. 
D. Newell. Mrs. E. H. Bowen, F. L. Irish, S. V. Lee, J. Q. A. Shelden, and Geo. C. 
Wilder. Miss Pearl Dow is clerk, and J. W. Webb treasurer. 

The corps of teachers is: Mr. Geo. D. Knipe, superintendent; Miss Marion Hun- 
ter, principal of high school; Miss Jane C. Tunnell, assistant in high school; Miss 
Florence Fitzgerald, eighth grade; Miss Emma Glossop, seventh; Miss Emma Spohr, 
sixth; Mr. H. N. Whitford, sixth; Miss Alice McElroy, fifth; Miss Louise Peterson, 
fifth; Miss Nellie Little, fourth; Miss Eusebia Knipe, fourth; Miss Carrie Stingley, 
third; Miss Annie Green, second; Miss Rowena Whaley, second; Miss Hattie Smith, 
first, principal primary department; Miss Angie Young, colored primary. 

Although a very fine, large, stone structure is now the Central building in the 
city, its nine rooms and the four rooms in the primary building are not sufficient, 
and three additional rooms are rented for the high school. The Central building is 
heated by steam, the others by stoves. 

The school year is divided into two terms of 18 weeks each. There is a library 
of 1,000 volumes connected with the school, and tuition paid by nonresidents is used 
as a library fund. 

The course is four years in the primary, four in the grammar, and two in the 
high school ( English) ; and three years in the classical department. 

We have not the statistics of the whole period, but note that D. E. Lantz was 
superintendent in 187B-'83, W. L. Lemmon in 1884, Wm. Schliemann in 1885-'86, 
L. S. Frey in 1887-'88, W. E. Whaley in 1889-'91, and Geo. D. Knipe in 1892-'93. 

The enrollment in 1880 was 616, and the average attendance 388; in 1892, it was 
708, and the average attendance 651. There were eight teachers in 1882, and 16 in 
1892. The average wages of teachers in 1883 was $51.25 per month, and in 1893 it 
is $51.80. The per cent, of attendance was the lowest (52) in 1885, and the highest 
(92) in 1892. 



ROOKS COUNTY.* 



Rooks county has 110 school districts and three joint districts. In the school 
year ending June 30, 1892, 100 schools were maintained, employing 108 teachers. 

Stockton graded schools employ six teachers. Its course of study, completed, 
admits pupils to the State University. 

Plainville graded schools are very good. Three teachers are employed. 

Woodston village schools employ two teachers, and have a good reputation. 

The Stockton Academy.! — Stockton has the only Christian academy in 
northwest Kansas west of Mitchell county. It is a New England academy in the 
West, with courses of study and departments adapted to the wants of the people 
around it. It fully prepares students for Washburn College, at Topeka, whose re- 
quirements for admission are among the highest in the State. The academy is 
managed by trustees elected by the Congregational churches of northwestern Kan- 
sas, and is to that extent only denominational. It is thoroughly religious in its pur- 
pose and influence. Last term, members of nine Christian denominations were 
among the students enrolled, pursuing their studies peaceably and pleasantly to- 
gether. 

The commercial department of the academy is the only business college in 

*By H. J. Lambert, county superintendent. 
fBy F. E. Sherman, principal. 



Rooks County. 193 

northwest Kansas. It provides the careful training in penmanship, bookkeeping, 
commercial law and other things commonly taught in a first class business college, 
including elocution, shorthand, and typewriting. A thoroughly -trained penman 
and accountant has charge of this department, Mr. Theo. Snowberger. Shorthand 
and typewriting really form a department by themselves, and are in charge of Mr. 
A. V. Louderback, a practical stenographer. 

Mr. J. H. Turtle, a thoroughly competent operator and instructor, has charge of 
the photography department. 

The musical department is the only musical conservatory in northwest Kansas. 
Miss Grace A. Brown, teacher of piano, organ, harmony, and musical history, is a 
graduate of the Fort Wayne Conservatory, a postgraduate of the conservatory in 
Albion, Michigan, and a teacher of large experience. We do not believe her equal 
can be found in her department in western Kansas. 

Equal commendation rightly belongs to the teacher of voice culture, Rev. T. V. 
Davies, who received thorough preparation for this work in New Haven, Conn. 

The normal department (three years) gives special advantages to teachers and 
those who expect to teach. 

The assistants in the various departments are fully competent for their special 
work, and are four in number : Mr. D. G. Palmer, a young man from Vermont, 
teaches the singing classes; Miss Mary Hill, from the State Normal School, at Em- 
poria, teaches arithmetic and physical geography; Mr. Leroy A. Halbert, in the 
senior class in the classical department, teaches grammar; Miss Myrtle Ives, of the 
normal department, teaches geography and U. S. history. 

The principal, Rev. F. E. Sherman, is a graduate of Phillips' (Andover) Academy, 
one of the best in the world, and of Amherst College. He teaches Latin and Greek 
and some of the mathematics of the classical course. In all, the academy offers 
nine courses of study, each, when completed satisfactorily, securing a diploma. 

Graduates and former students of the academy hold honorable positions in col- 
lege, in the schoolroom, and at the bookkeeper's desk. Two are now in the office of 
the Secretary of State. 

Expenses are low; the location is physically healthful, morally and socially ele- 
vating, intellectually, musically and religiously inspiring. 

Students are now present from four States outside of Kansas and from eight 
counties of the State. The school is large enough to do good work, and is growing. 
Its school property cost about $15,000. 

The academy was started in 1887, when peopie were financially hopeful. The 
hard times since have kept it financially embarrassed; but its friends are hoping 
still and courageously working. Among the 300 students who have attended, a large 
proportion have been teachers, who have carried the influence of the academy into 
many school districts. The aim is to do the best work in training the minds and 
molding the characters of all who attend. The teachers are earnest Christians, and 
try to surround the students always with a warm Christian atmosphere. Stockton 
is on the high prairie, half way between the Missouri river and the mountains, hav- 
ing a climate midway between those extremes — a desirable place for study, on ac- 
count of its excellent climate, its quiet surroundings, its economical management 
and low expenses, and its good work — studiously adapted to the wants of this sec- 
tion of the State. 

—13 



194 History of Education in Kansas. 



SALINE COUNTY.* 

In August of 1862, Salina was but a small village of some 10 or 12 houses, con- 
structed mostly of Cottonwood poles, and clapboards made from native timber (oak) 
used for siding, with the exception of a two-story frame building, constructed by 
Colonel Phillips, on the corner of Santa Fe and Iron avenues. The southeast corner 
room was at that time and sometime afterwards used as a common hall for various 
purposes, viz.: Church, Sabbath school, county elections, dancing hall, public lec- 
tures, and district or common schools. 

On or about the first of September, 1862, a meeting was held in this room, of the 
citizens, irrespective of conditions. Whether they were the heads of families and 
had children to send or not, or young men, a like interest was manifested; and in 
order the better to facilitate the object in view, R. H. Bishop was elected clerk, and 
O. P. Hamilton director, with instructions to solicit subscriptions from the citizens, 
and hire a teacher for a term of three months. A subscription of $90 was quickly 
raised, and Miss Etta Thacker was employed, and placed in charge, with an attend- 
ance of 13 scholars, whose names we give, as follows: E. B. and R. H. Bishop, of R. 
H. Bishop's family; Johnnie Phillips, of Col. W. A. Phillips's family, who perished 
in a snow storm some miles southwest of Salina in November, 1867; Eddie Hanna, of 
the Hanna family, now a resident of Washington, D. C; Miss Sarah Jane Morrison, of 
the Elder Morrison family, who became the wife of D. R. Wagstaff, a resident of this 
city; Miss Simons, now Mrs. Solberg, of this city, and her brother Eugene, of whom 
we know nothing at present; Misses Marietta and Myra Morrison, of the Rev. A. 
A. Morrison family, Miss Myra being now Mrs. Ritger, living in the east part of Sa- 
line county, her sister living with her; Luther and his sister Tillie, of the Joe Crow- 
ther family, who is now a resident of South Dakota — Tillie, the sister, having died 
in 1887; Miss Jennie Sharp, now married and living near southeast Salina. 

This term of school had no interruption in its progress, except on the morning 
of the 16th of September, when the town of Salina was raided quite early in the 
morning by a band of Texas rangers and horse thieves, who had things pretty much 
their own way for a few hours. The teacher and a few of the scholars fled to the 
country for assistance, but were overtaken, and informed they should not in any 
manner be harmed. This term and two others, with short intervals, were taught by 
the same teacher, and attended by about the same number of scholars. 

The schools were maintained by private subscription, and, so far as we remem- 
ber, promptly paid. No legal district had been formed in Salina; but sometime 
during the year 186B, district No. 1 was organized, and embraced all the eastern 
part of the county, and located a sod house near what is now Mr. T. Alley's residence, 
and the frame school house upon or near the same site. 

Some time after No. 1 was organized, the citizens of Salina organized district 
No. 2. We have no recollection of any school being taught during the year 1864, 
but in 1865, a Miss Ingersol, whose family lived on the Solomon river northeast of 
Salina, taught a six-months term, which was maintained by subscription. 

In the fall of 1862, Rev. William Bishop was elected county superintendent, and, 
I think, served two years. The next one was R. A. Mobley, whose residence was up 
the Saline valley, in Ottawa county, which at that time was attached to Saline 
county. His successor was D. M. Dunn, for the years 1866-'67. Under his adminis- 
tration, the first school lands were sold, and a school fund created. Miss Kate A. 
Houston, from Junction City, taught the first district school in Salina, beginning 
January 1, 1866, and continuing six months. Miss Houston soon after became the 

By Judge O. P. Hamilton. 



Saline County. 195 

wife of L. F. Parsons, one of the oldest citizens of Saline county, now living three 
miles east of Salina. 

The school board of the first district school was R. H. Hishop, B. M. Simons, and 
one other, whose name cannot now be recalled. 

District No. 3 was formed in 1863. It embraced the north tier of congressional 
townships, embracing a territory 6 by 30 miles in extent. The writer was clerk of this 
district for three years, and the enumeration of children of school age, each year, 
was only 16. 

The first school taught in district No. 3 was in a little stone building near the 
residence of Gotheart Schippel, some four miles northeast of Salina, at the old Fre- 
mont and Government trail and ferry crossing of the Saline river. 

In conclusion I will say: At no time in my 30 years' residence in Saline county 
was there a greater interest manifested in educational matters than in our first 
efforts to have and maintain schools. When no suitable building could be secured, 
a sod house was at once built upon some selected spot, convenient to the greatest 
number of children, or if not a sod house, a dugout in the bank of some ravine, 
creek or river was readily built, and was oftentimes more comfortable than the mod- 
ern buildings. In these rude structures many of Saline county's children have re- 
ceived their first lessons in district and Sunday schools. 

Salina Schools.* — One of the earliest acts of the people of Salina was the or- 
ganization of a private school, which soon changed into a legally-organized public 
school. As time rolled on, the interest in education did not abate, but rather in- 
creased, until now no city in the West can boast of better privileges. In 1867, a 
two-story building, containing two rooms, was erected on the grounds now occupied 
by the Central school building. Gradually the number of children grew, till, in 1874, 
the three-story, 10-room building, now known as the Central, was erected, at a cost 
of $22,000. At that time this was regarded as the finest school building in the State, 
and many were free to say that it contained more school room than Salina would 
ever need. The number of pupils increased, however, so rapidly that the building 
was crowded to its utmost capacity, and in 1880 the south part of the second-ward 
school was erected and three of the four rooms immediately filled. In 1885, more 
room was needed, and the two-room addition was placed on the north side of the 
second-ward building, and every room immediately filled with pupils. There were 
16 teachers employed this year and 862 pupils enrolled. 

In. 1886, the boom largely increased the number of pupils, and again crowded 
every schoolroom to overflowing. In 1887, the South Park, the Oak Dale and the 
Logan buildings were erected, and at once three rooms were occupied in South Park, 
two rooms in Oak Dale, and one room in Logan. There were 22 teachers employed 
and 1,239 pupils enrolled. In 1888, 24 teachers were employed and 1,257 pupils en- 
rolled. In 1889, 26 teachers were employed and 1,329 pupils enrolled. In 1890, 28 
teachers were employed and 1,416 pupils enrolled. In 1891, 29 teachers were em- 
ployed and 1,455 pupils enrolled. 

This year, 1892, the same number of teachers are employed, 37 more pupils than 
were enrolled last year at the close of the third month, and the prospects are that 
there will be nearly 1,600 enrolled by the end of this school year. 

The schools are divided into two departments: the elementary, consisting of the 
seven grades; and the high school, four grades or classes. Each grade represents 
one year of school work. That the schools are doing most excellent work, is shown 
by the uncommon uniformity of enrollment in the different grades. The " C " classj 
or preparatory to first grade, contains 70 pupils, who require about half a year of 



*By C. Y. Roop, superintendent. 



196 History of Education in Kansas. 

work before they can enter the regular first grade. The first grade enrolls 161 pu- 
pils: second grade, 170; third grade, 161; fourth grade, 203; fifth grade, 172; sixth 
grade, 137; seventh grade, 145; and the four classes of the high school enroll 138. 
These figures show that the pupils do not stop at the fourth or fifth grade, as in 
some cities, but nearly as many are found in the seventh grade as in the first grade. 
The following figures indicate the rapid growth of the high school in recent years. 
Beginning with the school year of 1879-80, the average daily attendance in the high 
school for each year, in order, is as follows: 24, 22, 28, 32, 30. 24, 29, 30, 42, 43, 53, 88, 
114, and the average daily attendance for the present year, so far, is about 125. 

Students graduating from the high school are received into the State University, 
and like institutions, without examination. A class of 24 young men and women 
will graduate at the close of the present year. The high school is now occupying 
rented rooms, but a new building will be erected soon, in all probability, as present 
quarters are overcrowded. 

The aim is to make the instruction in all the grades as practical as possible, and 
the idea has been assiduously inculcated that the world owes no one a living; that 
if a person "work not, neither should he eat;" that no one has the right to consume 
the wealth of the world, the product of human labor, without returning value re- 
ceived. The schools are conducted on the theory that the State is bound to see that 
children are so trained that they shall become good, law-abiding citizens, able to 
cast the ballot intelligently, and perform all the duties that devolve on the Ameri 
can sovereign. 

During the past three years, 2,745 books have been added to the school library, 
which now consists of 3,367 volumes. Each schoolroom is supplied with from 60 
to 500 books suited to the needs of the .pupils of the grades which use them. During 
the past year, the records show nearly 50,000 readings by pupils. 

Much care is exercised in the selection of experienced, competent teachers, and 
the teachers from surrounding cities and towns often visit the Salina schools to ob- 
serve the excellent work done. During the past year, more than 4,000 visits were 
made to our schools by parents and others, and, from present indications, the num- 
ber this year will be doubled. It is a good indication when parents visit the schools 
often. It greatly encourages both teacher and pupils, and establishes a more inti- 
mate friendship between all interested persons. People who pass the school build- 
ings at recess time or dismissal often express themselves as surprised at the number 
of well-dressed and bright-looking children the city affords. The plump forms and 
rosy cheeks give conclusive proof of a vigorous health that is the best possible ad- 
vertisement of the fact that Salina is one of the most desirable places to move to to 
rear and educate a family. 

St. John's Military School * — On the 14th of March, 1887, citizens of Salina 
formed a corporation for the purpose of establishing an institute, to be known as 
the Episcopal Military Institute, of Salina, Kansas, to be carried on under the au- 
spices of the Protestant Episcopal diocese of Kansas. 

Pursuant therewith, the corporation of St. John's School was formed, for the pur- 
pose of maintaining and conducting a school and college for boys and young men. 
It was provided in the charter, that the place of business be at the city of Salina; 
that the trustees shall have the right and power to elect their successors, but, if they 
are unable to agree, or if they fail to perform such duty, then such successors shall 
be appointed by the bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the diocese of 
Kansas; and, that a majority of the trustees shall be residents of the State of Kan- 
sas, and communicants of the Protestant Episcopal Church. 

The incorporators were: E. S. Thomas, Topeka, Kas.; E. P. Chittenden, Salina, 

* By Walter M. Jay, head master. 



Saline County. 197 

Kas.; W. D. Christian, Abilene, Kas.; Joseph A. Antrim, Leadville, Colo.; Arthur M. 
Claflin, Hugh King, J. H. Prescott, E. W. Ober, William Hogben, Salina, Kas. 

The official seal is a disk, with a raised cross in the center, inscribed "In Cruce 
Solum" and "St. John's School, Salina, Kas.," on the edge of the disk. 

On the 20th of September, 1888, the school was formally opened by Bishop 
Thomas, who retained the rectorship till the 9th of January, 1890, when he nomi- 
nated as his successor the Rev. E. P. Chittenden. 

Upon the resignation of Mr. Chittenden, in September, 1891, Bishop Thomas 
again assumed the duties of rector. 

The board of trustees is as follows: The Rt. Rev. E. S. Thomas, S. T. D., bishop 
of Kansas, president, Topeka; H. D. Lee, vice president, Salina; E. W. Ober, treas- 
urer, Salina; A. M. Claflin, Salina; Wm. Hogben, Salina; Rev. W. D. Christian, Abi- 
lene; Geo. A. Rockwell, Junction City; J. B. Wood, Hutchinson, and Maj. E. R. 
Powell, Wichita. 

The board of visitors and examiners is: Rev. W. D. Christian, Rev. W. W. Ayers, 
Rev. R. Ellerby, Rev. Pendleton Brooke, Rev. Joseph Wayne, Prof. F. E. Stimpson, 
Hon. Albert H. Horton, and Geo. A. Rockwell. 

The officers of the school are: Rector, the Rt. Rev. E. S. Thomas, S. T. D.; head 
master, Walter M. Jay, A.M.; commandant of cadets, Charles K. Warrens, captain 
U.S.A. (retired); chaplain, Rev. J. H. Lee, A.M.; secretary of faculty, Arthur G. 
Gates; bursar, W. M. Jay; matron, Miss Genevieve Marlowe. 

The following is the corps of instructors: The Rt. Rev. Elisha S. Thomas, S. T. D., 
visitor and lecturer; W. W\ Champlin, A.M., mathematics; J. H. Lee, A.M., Greek 
and Latin; Walter M. Jay, A. M., English history and literature; Capt. Charles K. 
Warrens, U. S. A., military science and tactics; C. Rowland Hill, B. D., chemistry and 
physics; Arthur G. Gates, stenography, penmanship, bookkeeping, and typewriting; 
Prof. W. H. Packard, instrumental music. 

Physicians in charge: J. W. Crowley, M. D., allopathic, and J. W. Jenney, M. D., 
homeopathic. 

Lectures, concerts, oratorical and declamatory contests, college receptions and 
commencement exercises afford to many a series of most delightful entertainments. 
The social life of the city guaranties to the cadets, wherever they meet its citizens, 
either at the hall itself or in the city, exceptionally pure and elevating influences. 

The grounds of St. John's School contain about 50 acres, 12 acres of which form 
a pretty grove, known as "Thomas Park," in honor of Bishop Thomas, by whose 
efforts the same was secured for the school. The campus has been laid out in drives 
and miniature parks, and the avenues planted with shade trees. In a little while 
these embellishments will make the immediate surroundings of the school of marked 
beauty and interest. The parade ground, covering 20 acres, is well adapted for the 
use of the military department of the school, as also for field sports. 

The imposing school building, named "Vail Hall," in honor of the late venerable 
Bishop Vail, first bishop of Kansas, is located one mile north of the city of Salina. 
It is, therefore, conveniently near for the transaction of business, while insuring, 
also, the seclusion favorable to study and the best discipline of the school. 

Vail Hall is a five-story edifice, erected in the year 1887, by the citizens of Salina, 
at a cost of $50,000. It rests on massive foundations, with heavy buttressed walls 
of gray limestone to the second floor, and from thence is finished in cream-colored 
pressed brick, with light-red sandstone trimmings. 

The approaches to the hall are ample and direct. Six large porticoes and door- 
ways give entrance and egress from the lower stories, while five balconies adorn the 
outer walls, and afford attractive shade in the warmest days of the year. 

The interior is finished in oiled pine, and is especially bright and cheerful. The 



198 History of Education in Kansas. 

ceilings are lofty, the windows broad, and the ventilation excellent. There are bath 
rooms and lavatories on each floor, and a reservoir above, providing water for the 
whole building. 

The interior is as nearly fireproof as possible, the partition walls being all of 
brick, and fire escapes are attached to the building in the front and in the rear. 
The hall is amply lighted, thoroughly ventilated, comfortably heated by steam, and 
well supplied with well and rain water. For beauty, convenience, and utility, Vail 
Hall, as a school building, can hardly be surpassed. 

At a meeting of the board of trustees, held in June, 1891, Bishop Thomas, Hon. 
J. H. Prescott and Mr. H. D. Lee donated $1,000 to add new volumes to the school 
library. Accordingly, new and attractive cases were placed in the reading room, 
and a number of interesting and valuable books were purchased. The list com- 
prises histories, biographies, travels, and standard fiction, as well as a choice col- 
lection of juvenile books, written by able authors, especially for the young. On the 
reading tables will be found the latest magazines and newspapers. 

The laboratory is well supplied with carefully-selected chemicals and the latest 
and most improved apparatus for illustrating physics and chemistry. No care is 
spared to make this department, which is so frequently neglected, of the greatest 
value to those who are pursuing the course. 

"A sound mind in a sound body " is a maxim on which parents are placing more 
and more stress. To meet their requirements, we must send them, at the close of 
the course, strong, vigorous young men, full of vitality, trained to think, taught to 
know, but also taught haw to live; taught how to gain and keep physical strength. 
To satisfy their laudable desires, and to give variety to physical exercise, a very neat 
and exceedingly convenient building, for a gymnasium and bowling alley, has been 
erected, at a cost of $2,000. 

This will be provided with the most approved apparatus. Classes will be formed, 
a competent teacher placed in charge, and exercise will be taken regularly and sys- 
tematically. At the meeting of the board of trustees referred to above, Mr. E. W. 
Ober donated $250 worth of apparatus for the gymnasium. 

The discipline is parental, strict, and watchful, yet not exacting, firm, but not 
harsh, and permits as much individual freedom as is consistent with careful, respect- 
ful obedience to the rules of the school and the welfare of the cadet. The objects 
desired are to cultivate a frank, manly, independent spirit and self-government. 
The daily discipline is guided by the head master and commandant, who administer 
the rules of the rector and faculty. The usual penalties are "demerits," "squad 
drills," "close bounds," and, in case of officers, reduction to ranks. The severest 
penalties for repeated violations of the rules of the school, or for gross misconduct, 
are suspension and expulsion. 



SCOTT COUNTY.* 



Previous to 1886, Scott county formed a part of Finney county. In 1886, Scott 
county was organized by the Governor of Kansas. Charles Reed, who took the first 
census, found there were 2,800 people in the county. 

Before the organization of Scott county, Miss Lulu Boling was appointed deputy 
by the superintendent of Finney county, and authorized to work for the interest of 
the schools of Scott county. At the organization of the county, she was appointed 
superintendent of public instruction. Superintendent Boling and her successor, E. 

*By O. D. Caed, county superintendent. 



Sedgwick County. 199 

E. Hubbell, organized 36 school districts, most of which have good substantial 
schoolhouses, worth about $500 each. At first there was but one school district in 
Scott county, and Miss Lulu Boling, taught the first school, a term of three months. 
She was very ambitious. She rode all over the county on horseback, to take the 
enumeration of the children of school age for the clerk. 

Here is a list of the county superintendents of Scott county, with their terms of 
office and salaries: Miss Lulu Boling, 1886-'87, $300; E. E. Hubbell, 1887, $400; Miss 
Lulu Boling, 1887-'89, $600; D. D. Beck, 1889-'91, $450; 0. D. Card, 1891, $450. 

Superintendent Beck introduced Welch's Classification Register, which also con- 
tains a good course of study. He worked to classify the schools and furnish them 
with definite work. 

Superintendent Card is working for a more perfect system of gradation and 
graduation from the common schools. 

In 1892, Misses Ida and Estella Render received the first common-school diplomas 
issued in Scott county. 

The school at Scott City has a small library, consisting chiefly of encyclopedias, 
histories, and scientific works. 

The following is a list of conductors and instructors: 1888 — Professor Fisk, con- 
ductor; 1889 — Professor Fisk, conductor, Mrs. Fisk, instructor; 1890 — J. W. Wil- 
liams, conductor, M. Hempy, instructor; 1891 — M. Hempy, conductor, Miss Ella T. 
McKernan, instructor; 1892 — J. W. Dinsmore, conductor, E. W. Kelley, Mrs. Lappin, 
and 0. D. Card, instructors. 

In 1891, Superintendent Card organized the first reading circle; 25 per cent, of 
the teachers of the county are enrolled, or 11 in all. The reading circle meets once 
each month, on the same day as the teachers' association. The reading circle meets 
in the forenoon and the teachers association in the afternoon. We follow the 
course of study, under the direction of the county superintendent and one of our 
best teachers. 



SEDGWICK COUNTY. 



No history of this county was prepared by the proper officer. The follow- 
ing is the history of the schools of Wichita, its county seat, and a city of the 
first class: 

"Wichita Schools —In 1868, the first cabin 
was built where the city of Wichita now stands. 
In 1870, the town was founded. In 1871, the first 
church and first schoolhouse were built. In 1 872, 
the first railroad was constructed, the first bank 
opened, and the first newspaper started. The' 
population increased from the occupants of one 
cabin, in 1868, to 50, as indicated by the census 
of 1870; 4,911, by the census of 1880; 23,835, by 
the census of 1890, and 28,000, the estimate in 

1892. William Finn's Dugout, the first 

Following the first cabins came the first school- schoolhouse in Wichita, 

house, with William Finn, now a resident of Sedg- 
wick, as schoolmaster. Mr. Finn's school commenced November 1, 1869, and con- 
tinued three months. His average attendance was 17. His salary was to be $45 per 
month, and was to be raised by subscription. Mr. Finn sent to Topeka for the 




200 



History of Education in Kansas. 



books for his school, paying for them out of his own pocket. Not half of the money 
subscribed was raised, and Mr. Finn, at the end of the term, was $50 in debt, although 
he had a little money of his own when he started. Through the kindly assistance 
of Hon. J. R. Mead, who was one of his patrons and friends, Mr. Finn purchased a 
surveying outfit, and left the profession of teaching. 

Mr. Finn was an excellent young man, and his school a success. He has fur- 
nished us with a cut of the dugout which was his schoolhouse. It stood at the north 
of the present site of the city. It was about 13 feet square, had a dormer window, 
and was covered with a dirt roof. 

Miss Jessie Hunter taught a private school, in the spring of 1870, in a building 
north of the present courthouse. She also taught, in the spring of 1871, in the Pres- 
byterian Church building, near the present site of the Missouri Pacific depot, on 
"Wichita street. Mrs. William West taught in the fall of 1871. In 1871, school bonds 
to the extent of $5,000 were voted, and a wooden building was erected on the pres- 
ent site of the high-school building, on Emporia avenue. The ground was donated 
by Hon. J. R. Mead, who also gave the school a bell, costing $75 in St. Louis. This 
was the first bell to ring out over school or church in the Arkansas valley, in Kansas. 
Mrs. Snover, from Michigan, and Mrs. Robert West taught the first school in the new 
building. 

The following is a list of the officers of the board of education: 



Year. 


Superintendent. 


President. 


Clerk. 


1871 






H. H. Oakley. 
E. B. Allen. 


1872 


John Tucker 


A. H. Fabrique 


1873 


B. C. Ward 


W. S. Woodman 


W. E. Stanley. 
W. E. Stanley. 
W. E. Stanley. 
W. E. Stanley. 
O. F. McKim. 


1874 


B. C. Ward 


R. L. West 


1875 


J. F. Gowdy 


H. J. Hills...., 

W. B. Smith 


1876 


O. F. McKim 


1877 


O. F. McKim 


W. B. Smith 


1878 


G. H. Woodward 


M. W. Levy 


C. A. Walker. 


mg-'si . . 


L. G. A. Copley 


M. W. Levy 


C. A. Walker. 


1882-' 83 . . 


E. L. Halleck.. .. 




C. A. Walker. 


1884 


G. E. Campbell 




C. A. Walker. 


1885 


G. E. Campbell 


M. W. Levy 


C. A. Walker. 


1886 


M. Chidester 


M. W. Levy, H. W. Abbott, H. L. Taylor. . . 


A. C. Burwell. 


1887 


M. Chidester 


A. C. Burwell. 


1888 


M. Chidester . . 


M. W. Levy 


A. C. Burwell. 


1889 


M. W. Levy 


A. C. Burwell. 


1890 


R. W. Stevenson 

R. W. Stevenson 


M. W. Levy 


J. J. Fegtly. 
T. J. Irwin. 


1891 


A. H. Ward 

J. D. Van Nuys 


1892 


W. Richardson 


T. J. Irwin. 



The high school principals have been: 1878, B. D. Hammond; 1879, T. J. Fuller; 
1880, L. K. Webb; 1881-'83, E. A. Wood; 1884, J. G. Steffee; 1885-'93, U. P. Shull. 

The curriculum of the high school embraces: (1) A university course, including 
Latin and Greek, whence graduates are received without examination at the State 
University. (2) An English course. (3) A business course, including practical 
stenography. Each course requires four years for completion. The number of 
graduates of the high school is 132. The present senior class numbers 32, and the 
enrollment is 320. 

The normal school was opened in 1890, under the management of Miss Mary E. 
Rowe, late of Washington, D. C. Miss Rowe is assisted by two critic teachers and 
the supervisors. 

Twenty-seven young ladies have graduated from this school. Of this number, 
20 are employed in the city schools, one is teaching in Indianapolis, and one in St. 
Louis. 

The board of education for 1892 is constituted as follows: J. D. Van Nuys, presi- 
dent; A. H. Ward, L. M. Cox, Geo. Van Werden, Geo. E. Campbell, V. K. Stanley, E. 
R. Powell, John H. Fazel, James Allison, Giles Davis, F. A. Davis, L. R. Cole, Thos. 



Sedgwick County. 201 

J. Irwin, secretary; C. S. Caldwell, treasurer; F. W. Wibkin, superintendent build- 
ings and grounds; and William Richardson, superintendent of instruction. 

Supervisors are employed in the subjects of drawing, penmanship, and music. 

A teachers' meeting is held on the third Saturday of each month, from 9 till 12 
o'clock. These meetings are conducted by the superintendent. Teachers are ap- 
pointed to present papers on various subjects. A discussion follows each paper, 
attended with free interchange of thought. The meetings are popular with both 
board and teachers. 

Grade meetings are called by the superintendent and supervisors, at which grade 
matters are discussed, and the work of the different departments is laid out. 

A record of the scholarship of every pupil is kept. This is made from daily reci- 
tations, and from tests given from time to time by teachers or superintendent. In 
order to gain promotion, pupils are required to rank 75 in taking the average of 
teacher's estimate and examination. The work is broader than the text-books stud- 
ied, and the questions are drawn partly from subjects presented in addition to the 
text-book. The unusually-large ratio of pupils in the high school bears testimony 
both to the value and popularity of the school, and to the work done below. 

The discipline of the schools is mild, but firm, the pupils being taught that " self- 
government is the essence of all government," and that to be a lady or a gentleman 
satisfies every demand. 

The following institutions have been established in Wichita, and receive from the 
citizens of the city and vicinity a liberal patronage: 

"Western School of Elocution and Oratory.— This school was incorpo- 
rated under the laws of Kansas in 1891, with power to grant diplomas and confer 
degrees. It has a board of trustees. Its aim is to give prominence to oratory, to 
fit its pupils for the pulpit, the bar, and the public duties of life. George W. Hoss, 
LL. D., is the president. 

Central Memorial University. — Central Memorial University has the fol- 
lowing departments: (1) College of liberal arts, (2) normal school, (3) preparatory 
department, (4) conservatory of music, (5) school of fine art, (6) commercial depart- 
ment. J. S. Griffin, A. M., is president, and professor of modern languages, with the 
following corps of instructors: H. B. Scott, A.M., professor of mathematics; B. M. 
Davis, B. Sc, professor of physics and chemistry; J. H. McGibbons, A.M., professor 
of Greek and Latin; M. A. Carleton, B. Sc, professor of botany and biology; T. W. 
Butcher, history and English; J. H. Whyte, principal commercial department; Mrs. 
M. A. Walden, director and teacher of voice culture; Mrs. Georgia McCoy, director 
and teacher of pianoforte and harmony; Miss Emily Jekyll, director of school of 
fine art; Miss H. Rae Woodman, A.B., English literature; Mrs. Bettie Davis Lucy, 
M. L., principal preparatory department. 

Wichita University — Under the direction of the Synod of the Interior of 
the Reformed Church of the United States. The faculty is: Alfred S. Miller, A. M., 
Ph. D., president, professor of the natural and applied sciences and literature; Rev. 
Solomon A. Alt, A.M., professor of mental and moral sciences and language; Miss 
Helen N. Carpenter, professor of mathematics; George W. Hoss, A. M., LL.D., in- 
structor in elocution and oratory; Miss Alice Jones, assistant in mathematics; Rev. 
John W. Love, A.M., lecturer on biblical literature and antiquities; Judge Christo- 
pher Reed, A.M., LL.B., lecturer on civil law; William H. Rauch, Esq., A. M., lecturer 
on commercial law; Hon. E. B. Allen, M. D., lecturer on anatomy, physiology, and 
hygiene; L. A. Shaw, principal of commercial department; Rev. Solomon A. Alt, 
A.M., principal of shorthand department; Mrs. Mary E. Nuss, instrumental and 
vocal music; Laura J. Nuss, piano and theory; Mrs. Eva Steffee, violin; Mrs. Laura 
M. Hughes, director of art department; Miss Edith Merrill, model school. 



202 History of Education in Kansas. 

Fairmount Institute is a corporation under the laws of Kansas, by virtue of 
a charter tiled February 24, 1892, and is an outgrowth of the Fairmount College cor- 
poration, which was organized about five years earlier. The beautiful building 
erected by the latter corporation has passed into the possession of the former, to- 
gether with the 20-acre campus upon which the building stands. 

The courses of study comprise English, classical, scientific, normal, music, and 
art. The institute prepares pupils for admission to the leading colleges and uni- 
versities of the United States, and fits for the duties of life those pupils who cannot 
afford, or who do not wish, to go to college. 

Fairmount Institute is located on the brow of a hill overlooking the city of 
Wichita, the county seat of Sedgwick county, and is reached from the city by means 
of an electric street-car line, which extends almost to the institute grounds. 

The building is of brick and stone, with terra cotta trimmings, and is one of the 
handsomest and most substantial school buildings in the West. 

The teachers are: Rev. R. M. Tunnell, principal; Miss Harriet R. Pease, precep- 
tress; Miss Marie Mathis, modern languages; Mrs. Lilian H. Garst, music. The offi- 
cers of the board of trustees are: W. J. Corner, president; L. D. Lewelling, treasurer; 
H. A. Clifford, secretary and financial agent. 

All Hallows Academy. — In September, 1887, this academy was established 
by the Rev. M. J. Casey, for the higher education of young ladies. It is under the 
direct control of the Sisters of Charity, B. V. M., who give unwearying attention to 
the welfare of every pupil, and who, by their labors through many difficulties, have 
succeeded in causing their school to be recognized as one of the best institutions of 
its kind. 

The academy is provided with efficient teachers, who, by precept and example, 
urge thoroughness in everything. 

The departments of music and art are well equipped. The opportunities offered 
for the study of vocal and instrumental mu.^ic are not surpassed anywhere, while in 
the art department the method is that used by the best art schools in the country. 

At present, All Hallows Academy is in a flourishing condition, the increasing 
number of pupils having obliged the sisters to add to their already large building 
an extensive wing, which is now in process of erection. 

Pro-Cathedral Parochial School, under the direction of the Sisters of Charity; 
Wichita Telegraph College, J. B. Martin, principal; Wichita Business College, E. H. 
Fritsch, principal; and a school of shorthand and typewriting, N. J. Waterbury, 
principal, are the remaining private and denominational schools located at Wichita. 

Lewis Academy.* — This institution was incorporated in April, 1884, by a 
board of 12 trustees, who were elected by the Presbytery of Emporia, and who were 
instructed to proceed to locate an academy somewhere within the " bounds of the 
Presbytery." The sum of $20,000 was secured by subscription from the citizens of 
Wichita, Kas., and the vicinity. The academy was located on the southeast corner 
of Third and Market streets, in Wichita. A fine and commodious building was 
erected. J. M. Naylor, Miss Lucy A. DuBois and Miss Lida M. Abell were selected 
as a corps of instructors, and the school was duly organized for work in September, 
1886, with an enrollment of 102 pupils. 

The building was entirely completed by September, 1887, and such additional 
departments of instruction were added as were needed. 

On October 9. 1887, the building was formally dedicated to the cause of Christian 
education. Rev. Herrick Johnson, D. D., of Chicago, delivered the address and 
offered the dedicatory prayer. 

*By J. M. Naylor, principal. 



Shawnee County. 203 

Thus, by the activity of the board of trustees, the tireless energy of Rev. J. D. 
Hewitt, D. D., and the generous donation of $25,000 by Col. H. W. Lewis, an institu- 
tion devoted to secondary education, and second to none in its appointments, was 
opened to the world. This school was organized by men whose sole desire was, and 
is, to make it an efficient agency in honoring God and saving souls. Its entire in- 
fluence is intended and expected to be, now and during the ages to come, on the side 
of Christ and for the spread of His gospel. 

The school is very unique in its organization, for the prattling child may enter 
the kindergarten and pass through all grades under the same roof, until he or she 
is prepared, either as a classical student to enter any university in the country, or, 
having graduated from either the scientific, the normal, the art, or the music course, is 
well prepared to step forth into life. The moral tone of the school and the daily 
systematic study of the Bible required, produce marked effects on the lives and char- 
acters of the pupils. Many are brought to a saving knowledge of Christ as their Sa- 
vior, and many of our young men dedicate themselves to the gospel ministry. All 
but nine of the 57 graduates are professing Christians. 

Graduates enter many of the colleges without examination, and maintain high 
positions in their classes. 

The executive officers of the institution are: H. W. Lewis, president; J. M. Nay- 
lor, Ph.D., principal; H. W. Rule, treasurer. 



SHAWNEE COUNTY.* 



The early history of education in Shawnee county cannot be made up from offi- 
cial records; in fact, very little of the early work in the schools of Shawnee county 
was recorded in any manner, and it is only by a diligent search through old letters, 
newspapers and miscellaneous documents in possession of old settlers, and owing 
to the fact that the writer is somewhat of an antediluvian himself, that some infor- 
mation has been gleaned that may be found of interest to the student of educational 
progress. There is no doubt that the unwritten history of the early 50's would 
make what Jim Lane used to call "mighty interesting reading." 

The records in the county superintendent's office furnish very little information 
as to the schools previous to 1865. The reports from that date to 1880 are more 
complete, and the reports from 1880 to 1892 are full and in excellent order. 

In 1855, there were several private schools in the county. It is not possible to 
ascertain when the first school was opened. Miss Sarah C. Harlan taught a school 
in Topeka in the fall of this year. The school was held in a small shanty made of 
cottonwood boards, until the first snowfall. This had a depressing effect. The 
teacher got married, thus establishing a dangerous precedent, which her followers 
have maintained to this day. In the spring of 1856, private schools were taught in 
Topeka by Miss Jennie Allen and Miss Carrie Whiting. Schools of this character 
were also in progress at this time at Rochester, Tecumseh, Auburn, and other parts 
of the county. Only a partial list of names of these pioneer teachers of the early 
50's can be obtained. The names are: Sarah Harlan, Jennie Allen, Sarah Allen, Car- 
rie Whiting, Olive Packard, Maria Bowker, Phoebe R. Plummer, and Jennie Penfield. 

It must be remembered that these teachers were the sisters, wives and daughters 
of that sturdy, patriotic class of pioneers who came to Kansas not only to subdue 
the prairie sod and make homes for themselves, but they came to uphold and fight, 
if need be, for the great principle of human liberty involved in the free-State issue. 

*By Josiah Jordan, county superintendent. 



204 History of Education in Kansas. 

Those brave women who gathered about them in sod houses and log cabins the chil- 
dren of "Bleeding Kansas" are, perhaps, more deserving of a place in history than 
are some of the more noisy "statesmen" of that period. But those women teachers 
left a monument more enduring, more precious to the State, than any marble shaft 
or stately granite tomb. The barefoot boy who went trudging across the prairie to 
school, his ragged straw hat just visible above the prairie grass and golden rod, is 
the patriotic, active, pushing citizen, the "Kansas man" of 1893. The West knows 
him and respects him, the East is just getting acquainted with him, and the world 
will know him quite well before the "Fair" is over. 

In 1858 and 1859, the*tide of immigration to Kansas and Shawnee county swelled 
proportionately as the echoes of the border war died away. Men came with their 
families and their goods, and settled down to stay. Shawnee county was soon 
fairly well settled with a most desirable class of citizens. The schools began to as- 
sume a more systematic condition. 

In 1859, Rev. R. M. Fish was elected county superintendent of schools. The old- 
est document on file in the superintendent's office is a notice of the organization of 
district No. 8, known as Rice district. It is dated July 30, 1859. There is no doubt 
that Superintendent Fish organized several districts under the territorial law this 
year, as the report of the Territorial Superintendent of Schools reports 14 districts 
in the county organized in 1859. 

The schoolhouses were mostly built of logs. The writer well remembers the first 
schoolhouse built in district No. 11, where he was taught his letters. The house 
was built in 1862. The logs were bought of Burnett, the chief of the Pottawatomie 
tribe, who died on the banks of the Shunganunga, a lazy stream that flows peace- 
fully along the shadow of Burnett's Mound, a familiar landmark to the inhabitants 
of Shawnee county. Our fathers hauled the logs with ox teams, and built the school- 
house on the Fitzpatrick homestead, near the Burlingame road. The house was 
"chinked" between the logs with sticks, stones, and mortar; but certain lawless, 
tow-headed boys would ofttimes knock the chinking out, in consequence of which 
acts the ventilation was all that could be desired — rather more than was agreeable, 
in fact, on cold mornings. 

But the first school in this district was held in a log shanty owned by the Rev. 
Jesse Stone. It stood near the present home of Perry T. Foster. The first school 
was taught in 1857, by Miss Olive Packard, a live Yankee girl of 16 summers. Her 
career as teacher was cut short by the arrival of a certain young man, who per- 
suaded her to change her name to Mrs. Wm. Owen, and again the ranks of Shawnee 
county teachers met a loss. But Mrs. Owen did not lose her interest in the educa- 
tional affairs of the county, as she is the mother of 10 living children, five of whom 
have taught school in Shawnee county. 

School district No. 23, now the city of Topeka, was well supplied with schools, 
judging from the local papers of that time. The Emigrant Aid Society erected a 
four-room brick schoolhouse, near the corner of Fifth and Harrison streets, in 1856. 
The Topeka Association afterwards bought the building of the aid society, and used 
it as a public schoolhouse for a number of years. In the fall of 1859, November 20, 
D. B. Emmert opened an evening commercial school in Museum Hall, Topeka. 
The Topeka Normal School opened in the brick schoolhouse, above mentioned, 
in November, 1859. The advertisement states that Prof. C. W. Bowen, A. M., was 
principal, and Miss Jennie Penfield, preceptress. The Topeka Academy, E. B. 
Conklin, principal, assisted by Mrs. H. E. Conklin, Mary E. Steele, and Clara Fos- 
ter, opened September 12, 1859. The announcement was made that the following 
branches would be taught: Reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, geography, gram- 
mar, U. S. history, Latin, Greek, and music on the piano and melodeon. In 1860, 




JOSIAH JORDAN, 

County Superintendent, Shawnee county, 
1889 to 1893. 



Shawnee County. 205 

W. W. Ross, clerk of district No. 23, made a report, giving the names and ages of 
all the persons over five and under 21 years of age in the district (Topeka). The 
total number was 191. There were 50 enrolled in school. On March 12, 1860, Miss 
Mary Pickett opened a select school at the brick schoolhouse. Her terms for tui- 
tion were $3 per month. 

In 1860, the clerk of district No. 1 (Auburn) reported 108 pupils of school age, 
and an enrollment of 86. Miss Brigham taught a nine-months school, receiving $32 
per month. District No. 3 (Wakarusa) reported 21 children residing in the district. 
A six-months school was taught three months by "Mr. Thomas" and three months 
by "Miss Holliday." The district clerks in those days did not bother themselves or 
the superintendent with the teachers' given names. Mr. Thomas was paid $20 per 
month, and Miss Holliday $10 per month. It is to be presumed that Miss Holliday 
"boarded around." District No. 20, Geo. B. Holmes, clerk, reported a three months 
school taught by Miss Sarah W. Austin, who received $12 per month and board. 
The following notation is made by the clerk: "Bill for board of teacher, $24. We 
shall probably be able to raise enough money to pay our teacher her wages, but not 
enough to pay the board bill." District No. 22, now College Hill, reported a three- 
months school in 1860, taught by Jane F. Nichols. District No. 4 maintained a 
four-months school, and paid the teacher $25 per month. Seventeen children at- 
tended school. Robert Simmerwell was district clerk. 

The drouth of 1860 is still remembered by those living here at the time; and it 
was owing to the failure of crops and general hard times that more than half the 
districts in the county failed to sustain any school. A great many of the homes 
were deserted; the prairie, parched and desolate, was dotted with empty houses. 
All honor to that noble band of teachers who kept the sacred fires of education 
burning throughout those days of trial, while the hot winds withered the grass, 
burned the corn, and dried up the springs. It was indeed a year long to be remem- 
bered by Kansas people. John Brown's death, the election of Abraham Lincoln and 
the intense political excitement of the times all serve to impress other events of a 
peaceful nature on the mind of the old timer. 

In 1861, Rev. Peter McVicar was elected county superintendent. The civil war 
began, and Shawnee county sent many of her best men to the front. The reports of 
this year are meager, and indicate that but little was done in the line of education. 
But one clerk's report can be found for 1861 which shows a school taught during 
the year. James S. Griffing, of district No. 8, reports a three-months school, taught 
by Miss Marcia Pierce. She was paid $30 per month — an indication of the subse- 
quent " war prices." Sixteen pupils were enrolled. Reports from a number of the 
strongest districts in the county show that no schools were in session in those dis- 
tricts. Of course, schools were maintained at Topeka, Auburn, Tecumseh, and per- 
haps two or three other points, but it seems that they were private schools. 

In 1863, 20 clerks reported to the county superintendent that there were 978 
pupils of school age (5 to 21) in the county, 593 of whom were enrolled. The aver- 
age daily attendance for the entire year was 395. The average length of school 
term was four months. The teaching was done by 18 women and 2 men, who re- 
ceived a total amount of $1,280.10. In 1865, nine more clerks reported than in 1863. 
The total number of pupils of school age had increased in two years from 978 to 
1,499. The enrollment had almost doubled, being 1,022. There were 37 women 
employed in the county as teachers, who received an average salary of $28.50 per 
month. The five men teachers employed this year received an average of $41.20 
per month. A steady increase in school population is shown until 1870, when there 
were 4,500 pupils of school age in the county, nearly five times as many as there 
were seven years before. The number of districts had increased from 14, in 1860, to 



200 History of Education in Kansas. 

57, in 1870. There were 3,000 children enrolled, with an average daily attendance of 
1,670. The school term averaged 6i months in length. There were 85 teachers in 
the county. The men were paid $50 per month, the women $35. It is interesting 
to note that the average wages of women teachers has gradually been nearing that 
of the men for the past 30 years in Shawnee county. The highest wages of any 
teacher in 1892, in the district schools of the county, is paid to a woman. The next 
highest is also paid to a woman. District No. 83 pays Miss Emma P. Cooper $85 
per month, and district No. 97 pays Miss Eliza Nagle $80 per month. Nine women 
teachers in Shawnee county receive $60 per month and upward this Columbian 
year. 

In 1880, a most astonishing increase in school population is shown. Let us 
compare the statistics for 1880 with those of 1870. In 1870, the school population 
was 4,500; in 1880, 9,258 — more than double. In 1870, there were 3,000 pupils en- 
rolled; in 1880, we find more than twice that number, viz., 6,077. The average daily 
attendance has increased from 1,670 to 3,542. In the year 1880, there were built 
nine schoolhouses, making a total of 91 in the county. In 1870, there were 52 in the 
county, six of which were made of logs. During the decade from 1870 to 1880, the 
last log schoolhouse disappeared, from the reports, at least. 

The report for 1892 is before us, and we briefly summarize it, as follows: There 
are 98 organized school districts in the county. The school population is 17,079. 
There are 10,797 children enrolled as pupils, with an average daily attendance of 
7,472. It takes 228 teaohers to train this little army — 82 men and 143 women. The 
men receive an average salary of $58 per month, the women $50 per month. The 
value of the school property of the county is estimated at $671,232. There are 240 
schoolrooms in the county. The amount of money raised and collected for school 
purposes during the year was $256,000; the amount paid out, $197,000; leaving a 
balance on hand for the year of $59,000. 

The educational system of the county is in a most satisfactory condition, al- 
though far from perfect. In 1889, the present (1892) superintendent introduced a 
plan of gradation and classification which has unified the work of the county ma- 
terially. A systematic record of the work of each pupil is kept in a permanent reg- 
ister, separate from the attendance register. A new teacher can, by referring to 
this, ascertain just what work has been done by the pupils the previous term. Re- 
ports of the classification, gradation and standing of each pupil are sent twice each 
year to the superintendent — at the end of the first month and at the end of the term. 

A uniform system of text-books is used throughout the county, having been 
adopted September, 1891, for a period of five years. The books in use are as fol- 
lows: Barnes's series of readers; White's two-book series of arithmetics; Butler's 
geographies, descriptive and physical; Reed's Speller; Hutchinson's Laws of Health, 
and "The House I Live in," a primary physiology; the Eclectic United States His- 
tory; Harvey's English Grammar; Powell's "How to Talk;" Roudebush's Writing 
System; Thomson's Intellectual Arithmetic; Thomson's Algebra; Gage's Physics; 
Williams & Rogers's Bookkeeping; Graphic Object Drawing; the International Dic- 
tionary; Townsend's Shorter Course in Civil Government; and Canfield's Local 
Government in Kansas. 

Soon after the adoption of these books, the writer prepared a "Course of Study 
for the Schools of Shawnee County," which is now in use. It is adapted to the needs 
of the teacher in the district school, and makes th~ gradation of the district school 
practicable. 

The normal institutes of Shawnee county have been a great help to the teachers. 
There were few institutes held in the early days. The first institute ever held in 
the county was April 21, 22, and 23, 1865. Lectures were given by Rev. P. McVicar, 



Shawnee County. 207 

Prof. C. H. Haynes, and Hon. I. T. Goodnow. Discussions of practical questions of 
interest to teachers were also held. In 1876, a four-weeks normal institute was held. 
Miss Una Hebron, who was then county superintendent, managed the institute, and 
it was very successful. In 1877, a normal-institute law was passed, requiring each 
county superintendent to hold a normal institute in his respective county, for a 
term of not less than four weeks. Under the provisions of this law, successful nor- 
mal institues have been held each year. 

Teachers' associations have been maintained regularly since 1880. Previous to 
that time they were not very successful or regular. A program is prepared and 
printed in September each year for the entire school year. The meetings are usu- 
ally held on the afternoon of the first Saturday in each month. Papers are read and 
•discussed; current events are discussed; scientific and literary topics are introduced. 
The teachers derive great benefit from these meetings. In 1892, a new feature was 
added, lectures by prominent men of Topeka being given every other month. This 
has proved a pleasing and satisfactory innovation, and it is quite likely that it will 
be a permanent feature in the association programs of the future. 

The school buildings of the present are of a somewhat different style of architec- 
ture from that of 30 years ago. Instead of the rough log structure standing on a 
slope of prairie surrounded by a wealth of wild grass, golden rod, and wild ro.-=es, 
forming a romantic and picturesque subject for poet or painter, the Shawnee county 
schoolhouse of 1892 is of a more practical and prosy nature. It is generally built 
of wood, is neatly painted, and usually surrounded by a neat fence, and by graceful 
shade trees. In a district before mentioned, where the writer learned his ABCs, 
the old log house has been replaced by a handsome frame structure, with a low porch 
in front, surmounted by a stately belfry. It is finished tastefully inside, and has 
two cloakrooms, and a library well filled with choice reading matter for all grades. 
The school is well supplied with the latest maps, charts, globes, blackboards, and is 
seated with handsome, comfortable furniture. 

One district, No. 35, has built a brick schoolhouse costing $10,000; and there are 
several that cost $4,000 and upward. Nearly one-half the schools are supplied with 
good libraries. Many school boards furnish daily papers, magazines and literary 
papers for daily use in the schoolroom. 

It must be said that there are a few districts in Shawnee county that have almost 
stood still for 30 years. There are schoolhouses that are dirty, out of repair, 
yards unfenced, outhouses in a disgraceful condition, windows broken, no school 
apparatus. But such schoolhouses are rare exceptions. 

The lowest wages paid any teacher in 1892 was $30 per month. There is a grow- 
ing demand for trained teachers. The school men and school women and the 
parents are realizing that it does not pay to train teachers at the expense of their 
own children. They see the advantage of good normal schools, and the time is not 
far distant when a young man or woman will not attempt to teach in a public 
school without first having received some professional training. 

On the 21st day of October, 1892, the schools of Shawne.e county observed the 
four hundredth anniversary of the greatest discovery the world has ever known. 
" Columbus Day " was more generally observed, and in a more fitting manner, than 
has been any other special-day observance in the history of the .county. Nearly every 
schoolhouse raised a flag and followed the official program, as prepared by the na- 
tional committee. It is common in most of the schools of the county to observe 
Washington's birthday, and quite a number of the schools have had flags floating 
over them for several years. 

The public schools are a source of pride to the people of Shawnee county. They 
recognize in them a fuller source of power, and an intellectual force more potent 



208 History of Education in Kansas. 

than that of the fabled Hercules in the physical world. They see, in the patriotic, 
energetic, busy boys in the public schools at the close of the nineteenth century, a 
foreshadowing of the high-minded, intelligent, God-fearing citizen of the great 
American republic, who will enter the twentieth century equipped for the high des- 
tiny awaiting him. 

When the live hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America shall be held, let 
it be held in Kansas — the exact geographical center of the greatest republic the 
world has ever seen. At that time, the center of population will have shifted far to 
the westward, and Shawnee county will be near the center of the most remarkable 
agricultural region on the face of the globe; the Anglo-Saxon will have long since 
ceased his restless and resistless march towards the setting sun, and will have quietly 
settled down in the bosom of the American continent, there to solve the great prob- 
lems of future centuries. 

Washburn College.* — This institution was chartered February 6, 1865, un- 
der the name of Lincoln College. The name was changed to Washburn College, 
November, 19, 1868, in recognition of a gift of $25,000 from Ichabod Washburn, of 
Worcester, Mass., and to avoid the confusion resulting from the use of the name of 
Lincoln by other institutions of learning. 

The plan of organizing a Christian college of a high grade under the patronage 
of the Congregational Churches of Kansas was first presented at the meeting of the 
General Association of Congregational Ministers and Churches held in Topeka in 
April, 1857, when a committee was appointed to secure a location for such a col- 
lege. 

The first building was erected in 1865, at the corner of Tenth and Jackson 
streets, in the city of Topeka. This building was afterwards purchased by the 
board of education, and is now used for public-school purposes. The present site 
of the college, including 160 acres of land, was donated, in 1865, by Mr. John Ritchie. 
In 1872, work was commenced on the building which is now known as Science Hall, 
and in the fall of 1874 the college was moved to this building, in which for several 
years its whole work was carried on. In it were chapel, recitation rooms, labora- 
tories, lodging rooms and study rooms for faculty and students, dining room, and 
kitchen. In 1879, Hartford Cottage was built, as a home for young women; and, in 
1882, South Cottage, since destroyed by fire, was erected, to accommodate the in- 
creasing number of lady students. In 1882, the building now known as Music Hall 
was erected, as a dormitory for young men. In 1886, two buildings were completed: 
Holbrook Hall, as a woman's home, and the Boswell Memorial Library, named re- 
spectively in recognition of gifts from Miss Mary W. Holbrook, of Holbrook, Mass., 
and Mr. Charles Boswell, of Hartford, Conn. The last building erected is the chapel, 
which was completed in 1890, to the building of which Mr. W. A. Slater, of Norwich, 
Conn., contributed $15,000. In 1889, the interior of Science Hall was remodeled 
and adapted to the needs of the scientific departments. The total cost of buildings 
erected and owned by the college is not far from $150,000. The total value of all 
college property, including land, buildings, library, apparatus, museum, and endow- 
ment, is about $500,000. This property has been acquired chiefly by individual do- 
nations. 

January 3, 1866, an academy or college preparatory department was opened to 
students, under the charge of Rev. Samuel D. Bowker as principal, and Mr. Geo. H. 
Collier and Mr. Edward F. Hobart as assistants. In June, 1866, Rev. H. Q. Butter- 
field was called to the chair of the Latin and Greek languages, and in 1869, he was 
elected president. Doctor Butterfield resigned in November, 1870, and in February, 
1871, Rev. Peter McVicar was chosen president. 

* By Lutheb D. Whittemoke, professor of Latin language and literature. 



9 K 




Shawnee County. 209 

The first board of trustees included five men who are still members of that body: 
Rev. Peter McVicar, Rev. S. D. Storrs, Rev. Richard Cordley, Mr. H. D. Rice, and 
Maj. H. W. Farnsworth. The board of trustees at present is composed of the 
gentlemen just named and Rev. James G. Dougherty, D.D., Judge David J. Brewer, 
LL.D., Mr. Albe B. Whiting, Rev. L. Blakesley, D. D., Mr. Charles W. Jewell, Hon. 
Solon O. Thacher, LL.D., Hon. T. Dwight Thacher, Samuel F. Mather, M. D., Rev. L. 
Payson Broad, and Mr. S. H. Fairfield. 

When the school was opened, in 1866, the courses of study offered were a college 
preparatory course of three years, consisting chiefly of Latin, Greek, and mathe- 
matics, and a ladies' course of four years, in which instruction was given in French 
and in some subjects in science. In the following year, a collegiate course of four 
years was added, in which Greek, Latin and mathematics were the prescribed sub- 
jects, until the third term of the junior year. In the remainder of the junior year, 
and in the senior year, limited courses were offered in philosophy and science. In 
the third year of the history of the institution, a scientific course was introduced. 
These courses have been modified and enlarged from year to year; and there are 
now offered a college preparatory course, requiring three years of study for its 
completion, and collegiate courses of study leading to the degrees of bachelor of 
arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of letters. The elective system has been in- 
troduced, making it possible for a student to select some line or lines of study in 
language, science or literature which he may pursue for several successive years, 
thus deriving the benefit that comes from consecutive study in one subject. Work 
is prescribed in a sufficient number of subjects to prevent a student from omitting 
those studies which should find a place in every thorough system of education. 

Subjects which are prescribed for one degree are open as lectures to students 
studying for the other degrees. For graduation, a student is required to complete 
15 full courses of study in addition to the work in English and rhetoric. Of these 
15 courses, seven are prescribed and eight are elective. Unless otherwise indicated, 
the courses of instruction continue through an academic year. 

Below are the names of the professors and instructors, together with the courses 
of instruction offered in each department in the academic year 1892t'93. The letter 
A., S. or L. indicates that the subject so designated is prescribed for candidates for 
the degree of bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, or bachelor of letters, respectively. 

Peter McVicar, president, and professor of mental science. B. A., Beloit College, 
1856; M. A., 1871; D. D., 1871; instructor in Beloit College, 1857; student in Union 
Theological Seminary, 1858; graduate of Andover Theological Seminary, 1860; pas- 
tor of First Congregational Church, Topeka, Kas., 1860-66; State Superintendent 
of Public Instruction, Kansas, 1867-71; elected president of Washburn College, 1871. 

1. Psychology. A discussion of physiological psychology, and some results of laboratory work. — 
Materialistic views. — Theories of perception. — Hypnotism and other forms of abnormal phenomena. — 
Inductive and deductive modes of reasoning. — Intuition. — The relation of experience in the apprehen- 
sion of first truths or categories. Four hours a week. Second half year. A. S. L. 

2. Ethics, (a) An inquiry into the nature of the sensibilities and the will. — The nature and func- 
tion of conscience. — Origin of the sense of obligation. — The doctrine of casuistry. — A discussion of the 
various theories of the standard of right and wrong.— Moral science applied. (6) The evidences of the 
Christian religion. — The teachings of nature respecting the existence and attributes of God. — Man's 
moral relation, a plan of human redemption, and the immortality of the soul. — The necessity of a re- 
vealed religion — its external and internal evidence.— The Christian and other religions compared. — 
The cumulative evidence of the Christian religion as a divine revelation. Four hours a week. Second 
half year. A. S. L. 

3. Civil Science. In the study of this science the most recent data are consulted. The varying 
phases of the great issues of the day are studied in the addresses of the ablest statesmen, campaign de- 
bates, and the annual reports of the departments of the General Government, as well as in standard 
treatises. Each member of the class is required to write theses on the fundamental principles and 
practical application of the science. A prominent place is given to the consideration of values, and the 

—14 



210 History of Education in Kansas. 

questions that naturally arise In the province of social and national economy. The college and State 
libraries afford excellent facilities in this line of investigation. Four hours a week. Second half year. 

Joseph T. Lovewell, professor of physics and chemistry. B. A., Yale University, 
1857; Ph. D., 1878; superintendent of schools and principal of high school, Madison, 
Wis., 1860, 18(io-'66; principal Prairie du Chien College, Wisconsin, 1866-'68; pro- 
fessor of mathematics, State Normal School, White Water, Wis., 1868-72; instructor 
in Sheffield Scientific School, Yale University, 1874; professor of physics and chem- 
istry, State College, Pennsylvania, 1875-77. 

1. Physios. Grant.— Lectures, laboratory work and experiments are prominent.— Reference is 
constantly made to the^literature of the subject. — The reading of the students is directed, and essays 
and discussions are required. Four hours a week. A. S. 

2. Physics. Kohlrausch's Physical Measurements. — Physical manipulations, with special reference 
to the practical applications of electricity.— Physics of the ether. The studies of this course are all 
conducted in the laboratory. The preparation of theses is an important feature of the work. Four 
hours a week. 

3. Astronomy. Elements.— Recitations, with observation and study of the stars. Three hours a 
week. First half year. 

4. Mechanical Drawing. Principles of orthographic, isometric and oblique projections.— Spherical 
projections. — Elements of perpective. Four hours a week. First half year. 

5. General Chemistry. Recitations and laboratory practice. Four hours a week. Second half 
year. S. 

6. Analytical Chemistry. Qualitative analysis. — Organic chemistry. — Blowpipe analysis and de- 
termination of species. — Metallurgy and assaying.— Lectures, recitations, and laboratory work. Eight 
hours a week. 

7. Analytical Chemistry. Quantitative analsyis. — Original investigations and technical work with 
reference to theses. Eight hours a week. 

Luther D. Whittemore, professor of the Latin language and literatue. B. A., Am- 
herst College, 1880; M. A., 1884; instructor in Barre Academy, Barre, Vt., 1880-'81; 
superintendent of city schools and principal of high school, Hiawatha, Kas., 1881-'84. 

1. Vergil, books I- VI of the ^Eneid and the Bucolics.— Latin prosody. Five hours a week. A. S. L. 
This course must be taken by freshmen who do not offer it as a part of their preparation for admission. 

2. Livy, book XXL— Cicero, De Amicitia.— Exercises in the writing of Latin. Four hours a week. 
First half year. A. L. 

3. Horace, Odes, Ars Poetica, Carmen Saeculare.— The history of Roman literature in the age of 
Augustus. Five hours a week. Second half year. A. L. 

4. Plautus, Capti^i.— Terence, Andrla, and Adelphi.— Early Roman literature. Three hours a week. 
First half year. 

5. Tacitus, Germania and Agricola.— Juvenal, selections. — The history of Rome under the emper- 
ors. Three hours a week. Second half year. 

6. Plautus, Trinummus.— Terence, Heautontimoroumenos and Phormio.— Studies in Roman phi- 
lology. Three hours a week. First half year. 

7. The letters of Cicero and Pliny.— The private life of the Romans. Three hours a week. Second 
half year. Courses 6 and 7 are given in alternate years with 4 and 5. 

Fordyce P. Cleaves, professor of oratory and rhetoric. B. A., Dartmouth College, 
1887; M. A., Emerson College of Oratory, 1890; instructor in rhetoric, Emerson Col- 
lege of Oratory, 1888; instructor in oratory, Pennell Institute and Portland Military 
Academy, 1889. 

1. Rhetoric and English Composition. J. F. Genung's Rhetoric and Handbook of Rhetorical Analy- 
sis. Three hours a week. First half year. A. S. L. 

2. Elocution, including Orthoepy. One play of Shakespea-e read critically and for dramatic ex- 
pression.— Dowden's Shakespeare. One hour a week. Second half year. A. S. L. Each student in 
courses 1 and 2 is required to write three essays upon subjects bearing upon work done in class ; and 
each student is also required to give one public address. 

3. Elocution, including Orthoepy. Readings from Shakespeare. Each student is required to pre- 
pare two essays upon some feature of Shakespearian work. One hour a week. Second half year. 
A. S. L. 

4. Six Themes. Lecture and discussion of themes in class. One hour a week. Second half year. 
A. S. L. Courses 3 and 4 are prescribed for sophomores. Each student will deliver one public ad- 
dress. 

5. Argumentative Composition and extemporaneous speaking. One hour a week. First half year. 



Shawnee County. 21 1 

A. S. L. Course 5 is prescribed for juniors. Each member of the class is required to give one oration 
and one public extemporaneous address. 

6. Oratory. Lectures.— Vocal interpretation of best literary work. — Liturgical reading.— Emerson's 
Sixteen Perfective Steps in Art. One hour a week. First half year. "A. S. L. 

7. Individual training for public speaking. One hour a week. Second half year. A. S. L. Courses 
7 and 8 are prescribed for seniors. Two orations are required from each member of the senior class. 
General rhetorical exercises occur each Friday morning of the school year, at 8:30 o'clock. 

8. Logic. Jevons. Three hours a week. Second half year. 

Frederick W. Ellis, professor of the Greek language and literature. B. A., Yale 
University, 1889; professor of ancient languages, Davis Military College, Winston, 
N. C, 1891-'92. 

1. Beginning Greek. Harper & Waters's Inductive Greek Method, including a study of grammatical 
forms and the reading of book I of Xenophon's Anabasis. Five hours a week. A. 

2. Xenophon's Anabasis, books II and III. Exercises in prose composition. — Study of syntax and 
special drill in the acquisition of a vocabulary. Five hours a week. First half year. A. 

3. Homer's Iliad, books I and II. Study of Greek legends and mythology. Five hours a week. 
Second half year. A. Courses 1, 2 and 3 may be offered as a part of the requirements for admission 
to the freshman class. 

4. Selections from Herodotus. Headings in Greek history. — Lectures on ancient history to the time 
of Herodotus. Four hours a week. First half year. A. 

5. Selections from Thucydides and Xenophon's Hellenica. Readings in Greek history. — Lectures 
on Greek history and historians. Five hours a week. Second half year. A. 

6. Plato's Apology and Crito. Selections and sight reading from Xenophon's Memorabilia.— Stud- 
ies in Greek philosophy and ethics.— Lectures. Four hours a week. First half year. A. 

7. Sophocles' Antigone. iEschylus' Prometheus Bound. — Study of dramatic literature through 
translations. — Lectures on the Greek theater and the origin and growth of the Greek drama. Four 
hours a week. Second half year. A. 

8. Homer's Odyssey. Critical reading of large portions of the text, with reference to the date and 
authorship. Reading of selections from the Iliad in translation with Leafe's Companion to the Iliad. 
Three hours a week. First half year. One lecture a week on Greek archaeology. Open to all Greek 
students, and to others on request. 

9. Aristophanes' Clouds and Frogs. Study of comedies through translations. Three hours a 
week. Second half year. One lecture a week on Greek art and literature. Open to all Greek students, 
and to others on request. 

Charles S. Prosser, professor of natural history. B. S., Cornell University, 1883; 
M.S., 1885; F. G. S. A., 1888; fellow in natural history, Cornell University, 1884-'85; 
instructor in historical geology, Cornell University, 1885-'88; assistant paleontol- 
ogist, United States geological survey, 1888-'92. 

The instruction in natural history aims to give a general training in the ele- 
ments of botany, zoology, and geology, and, in addition, opportunity is offered for 
advanced work in botany and geology. The introductory work is based upon a 
text-book, which is supplemented by lectures, and following such a course is field 
and laboratory study. 

1. Botany. Gray's Elements, with plant analysis. Four hours a week. Second half year. 

2. Vegetable Histology and the higher cryptograms, as ferns, mosses, and fungi. Four hours a 
week. Second half year. 

3. Zoology, (a) Course in systematic zoology, for general students. (6) Same course with labor- 
atory study, for scientific students. Four hours a week. First half year. S. 

4. Geology. Le Conte's Elements. A general course, with recitations and lectures. Three hours 
a week. First half year. S. 

5. Historical and Economic Geology. This course describes the history of organisms with the dis- 
tribution of the geologic systems, and the occurrence and methods of working geological deposits of 
commercial value. Lectures, recitations and laboratory study. Three or four hours a week. Second 
half year. 

6. Paleontology. The identification and study of characteristic fossils. In the fall and spring, 
this course includes field work in geology, which consists of making geological sections, collecting and 
identifying fossils, and preparing a geological report describing the area studied. 

Caroline L. White, instructor in history and English literature. Graduate of Mt. 
Holyoke Seminary, 1871; instructor in Mt. Holyoke Seminary, 1872-74; instructor 



212 History of Education in Kansas. 

in Washburn College, 1879-'83; student in Harvard Annex, 1883-'84, 1888-'89; in- 
structor in Bradford Academy, Mass., 1884-'87. 

1. History of England until 1688. («) General outline of events; (6) development of constitution; 
(©) study of important epochs. Four hours a week. First half year. L. 

2. History of England and of France in the eighteenth century. Throe hours a week. First half 
year. 

3. History of the English language and literature to the fifteenth century. — The Prologue and two 
of the Canterbury Tales of Chaucer. — Langley's Vision of Piers, the Plowman. Four hours a week. 
Second half year. L. 

4. The beginnings of the English drama. — Miracle and morality plays. — Study of Marlowe and 
Shakespeare. — Spenser's Faery Queen, book I. — Milton. — Brief studies of writers of the seventeenth 
and eighteenth centuries. — Lewes's Principles of Success in Literature. — Moulton's Shakespeare as a 
Dramatic Artist.— Gumniere's Handbook of Poetics. Three hours a week. L. 

5. Critical study of English writers of the nineteenth century. Three hours a week. 

Arthur D. Kinsman, instructor in mathematics. B. S-, Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology, 1889; principal of high school, Manchester, Mass., 1890; instructor 
in mathematics and natural science, Muskegon, Mich., 1890-'91. 

1. College algebra. — Solid geometry. — Trigonometry. Four and five hours a week. A. S. L. 

2. Analytic geometry. Four hours a week. First half year. S. 

3. Surveying. Four hours a week. Second half year. 

4. Differential and integral calculus. Four hours a week. 

5. Differential equations.— Definite integrals. — Method of least squares. Three hours a week. 

Maud Fulkerson, instructor in French and German. Ph. B., De Pauw University, 
1890; student in Paris and Berlin, 1890-'92. 

1. Chardenal's First French" Course. — Bercey's La Langue Francaise. Three hours a week. First 
half year. S. L. 

2. Chardenal's Second French Course. — Modern authors. — Racine's Esther. Three hours a week. 
Second half year. S. L. 

3. Modern French authors. — Hernani. — Light reading from Victor Hugo. Three hours a week. 
First half year. 

4. Classic French. — Corneille, Racine, Moliere. Three hours a week. Second half year. 

5. Cook's Otto's German Grammar.— Brandt's German Reader. — Modern authors. Five hours a 
week. This course is required of candidates for the degrees of bachelor of science and bachelor of 
letters for admission into the freshman class. Either course 5 in German or courses 1 and 2 in French 
is prescribed for candidates for the degree of bachelor of arts. 

6. Schrakamp's Erzahlungen aus der Deutschen Geschichte. — Schiller's Balladen. — Prose compo- 
sition. Four hours a week. First half year. 

7. Schiller. — Prose composition.— Reading at sight. Five hours a week. Second half year. 

8. Lessing.— Goethe's Hermann und Dorethea.— Reading at sight. Five hours a week. First half 
year. 

9. Faust, part I.— Reading from modern authors. Three hours a week. Second half year. 

Helen Ruth Ingalls, instructor in instrumental music, harmony, and theory. 
Graduate of New England Conservatory, Boston, 1890. 

1. The course in piano occupies five years, during which the works of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, 
Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann and Chopin are studied, as well as some of the modern composers. 
Special attention is given to technique and to the development of a pure legato touch and an express- 
ive style of playing. . . 

2. The course in harmony and theory occupies one year, and consists of musical notation, keys, 
scales, signatures, and intervals. 

Hallie A. Walker, instructor in vocal music. Student in New England Conserva- 
tory, Boston, 1889-'90; student in New York Vocal Institute, 1891-'92; instructor in 
vocal music, Tazewell Female Seminary, Tazewell, Va., 1890-'91. 

The courses invoice culture and singing include Panofka's Vocal ABC; Concone, op. 9 to 17: Vac- 
cai, Italian Studies; Marchesi, op. 5; Panofka, op. 87, bk. 1 and 2; Marchesi, op. 6; Sutgen, studies; 
Marches!, op. 3; English, German, French and Italian songs; arias from opera and oratorios; control 
of breath; song phrasing; music reading; appearance while singing. 

Samuel W. Scott, principal of the preparatory school and instructor in Latin. 
B. A., Yale University, 1886; instructor in classics, Brooks Military Academy, Cleve- 
land, Ohio, 1887; head master and classical instructor, Bishop Scott Academy, Port- 



Shawnee County. 213 

land, Ore., 1887-'91; professor of Latin and Greek, Mount Morris College, Mount 
Morris, 111., 1892. 

W. A. Harshbarger, instructor in mathematics in the preparatory school. Stu- 
dent in West Virginia University, 1881-'82; student in Oberlin College, 1883-'84; 
instructor in Franklin Academy, Franklin, Neb., 1884-'90. 

The object of the preparatory school is thoroughly to prepare students to enter 
the freshman class of the college in courses leading to the degree of bachelor of 
arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of letters. All students seeking admission 
are required to pass an examination or to present a certificate showing that satis- 
factory work has been done in orthography, arithmetic (including the metric system), 
English grammar, political geography, and the history of the United States. In- 
struction is given by the members of the college faculty as well as by the special 
instructors whose work is confined to the preparatory school. Instruction is given 
in the subjects named below. 

1. English. — Weekly exercises in English composition and elocution, and the 
study of masterpieces of English literature. 

2. Mathematics. — Algebra, including the solution of quadratic equations and 
the theory of exponents. — Plane geometry. 

3. Latin. — Collar and Daniell's Beginners' Latin Book. — Four books of Caesar's 
Gallic War. — Five orations of Cicero. — Exercises in Latin composition. 

4. History. — The history of Greece to the time of the Macedonian supremacy, 
the history of Rome to the death of Augustus, and the geography of Greece and 
Rome. 

For graduation, every student is required to complete courses 1 to 4, named 
above, and a sufficent number of the following to amount to four courses. Any two 
of the subjects marked half course may be taken together as the equivalent of one 
full course: 

5. Latin. — The first six books of Vergil's iEneid and the Bucolics, with the prin- 
ciples of prosody which are involved in Vergil's verse. 

6. Greek. — Harper and Waters's Inductive Greek Method, and the first book of 
Xenophon's Anabasis. 

7. Greek. — Books II and III of the Anabasis, and two books of Homer's Iliad. — 
Exercises in Greek composition. 

8. Physiology. Half course. 

9. Physical geography. Half course. 

10. Civil government. Half course. 

11. Physics. Half course. 

12. Botany. — Half coarse. Gray's Elements, with plant analysis. 

13. German. — Cook's Otto's Grammar. — Brandt's German Reader. — Modern au- 
thors. 

14. German. — Schrakamp's Erzahlungen aus der Deutschen Geschichte. — Schil- 
ler's Balladen. — Prose composition. — Reading at sight. 

15. — French. — Chardenal's First French Course. — Chardenal's Second French 
Course. Bercy's La Langue Francaise. — Modern authors. — Racine's Esther. 

16. Mathematics. — Higher algebra. — Solid geometry. — Plane trigonometry. 

The requirements for graduation from the preparatory school are the same as 
for admission into the freshman class of the college. The time ordinarily required 
to complete these studies is three years. 



214 History of Education in Kansas. 



SUMNER COUNTY.* 

Sumner county, so named in honor of Charles Sumner, the brave defender of 
Kansas freemen, was permanently organized in 1872, with Wellington for the county 
seat. 

During the first few years after settlement, many private schools were held in 
one-room dwellings, or in rudely-constructed sod schoolhouses; and earnest, faithful 
teachers, at a mere pittance for their services, began the foundation work for intel- 
ligent citizenship. Parents, toiling and enduring frontier hardships themselves, 
held it their first duty to educate their children. Farms might be mortgaged, crops 
fail, or prices run low, but schoolhouses must be built. Hence, the first good build- 
ing in nearly every town or community was the schoolhouse. And almost every 
neighborhood has a school history fraught with as thrilling examples of self-sacrifice 
and determination as glow upon the pages of Prescott or Bancroft. 

The marvelous progress of this county in educational matters is shown by the 
following statistics: At the beginning of 1872, not one district or public-school 
building; at the close of 1872, 20 districts had been formed, and many buildings 
either completed or in process of erection; the estimated value of school property, 
$8,000; less than 300 children in school; and no money on hand to pay the teachers. 

In 1882, the number of districts and buildings had increased to 164; the number 
of pupils, males 2,971, females 2,462, total 5,433; value of school property, $84,600; 
number of teachers employed, 185; males, 96, at an average salary of $29.35; fe- 
males, 89, average salary, $24.62; total amount of teachers' salaries, $28,582.96. 

In 1892, there were 197 districts; 200 public-school buildings, all good frame, 
brick or stone structures, well furnished with modern conveniences; number of 
pupils enrolled, males 5,573, females 5,324, total 10,897; number of teachers em- 
ployed, males 116, females 129, total 245; total amount paid teachers, $74,647.45; 
average salary, males $57, females $37; estimated value of school property, $255,- 
630. 

The country schools are being graded to some extent, especially those taught by 
first-class teachers. The towns are well provided with graded schools, comfortable 
buildings, and efficient teachers. 

In addition to the deserving principals, there are, in the ranks each year, over 
200 teachers, without whose faithful services there would be no general education of 
the people. 

In advancing the educational interests of the county, much credit is due the 10 
different superintendents who have had the management and oversight of the pub- 
lic schools and normal institutes. 

A condensed history of the county superintendents would read as follows: 

At a special election held September 26, 1871, A. M. Colson was elected, but 
failed to qualify. At the regular election November 7, 1871, T. S. Mason was 
elected; reelected in 1872; resigned April 13, 1874; and John P. Jones was appointed 
by the county commissioners to fill the unexpired term. In November, 1874, S. B. 
Fleming was elected; he resigned March 5, 1875; John P. Jones served the unex- 
pired term, and on November 7, 1876, was regularly elected for two years. His suc- 
cessor was John D. Beck, chosen November 5, 1878. On November 2, 1880, J. 
V. Ratliffe was chosen, and held the position by reflections until January, 1886, 
when he resigned, and Mrs. M. E. Ratliffe was appointed by county commissioners 
to fill the unexpired term. In 1886, C. E. Hitchcock was elected, and in 1888, J. W. 



*By Mrs. M. M. Carson, Wellington. 




g. 







H 











® CD 


w 


|| 




g M- 


2 


* O 


H 


H 


hrl 




Sumner County. 215 

Hoover. All superintendents up to this time were Republicans. J. W. McLaughlin, 
the People's Party candidate, was elected in 1890, and reelected in 1892. 

The normal institutes of this county have been the pride of her teachers and citi- 
zens, and have won the admiration of leading educators. In attendance, efficiency, 
and able instructors, no other county has been allowed to excel. These annual meet- 
ings have served an excellent purpose in supplying not only much-needed academic 
instruction to young teachers, but also professional training to all classes, and in 
arousing a laudable ambition to make Sumner one of the best educational counties 
in the State. 

The first county teachers' institute was held in Belle Plaine, September, 1873, by 
the first county superintendent, T. S. Mason, who still resides at that place. No reg- 
ular instructors were employed. The leading teachers of the county assisted in the 
work. The meeting was well attended, and much interest was shown. 

From this time on, a meeting of one week annually was held in Wellington, un- 
til 1877, when the law was enacted providing for an annual institute of one month. 

The year 1874, marked by the devastation of grasshoppers and drouth, showed 
an attendance of about 40, representing every part of the county. Some came in 
ox wagons, and camped out during the institute; others rode on horseback from 
their homes, 10 to 15 miles away. Many young people of the village enrolled as 
members. Judges, attorneys, doctors and merchants tell of the pleasant times at 
the early institutes. In 1877, there was a marked increase in attendance. 

Among the instructors of these early years were Messrs. Gridley, Thomas, Wyatt, 
Ratliffe, McKim, Lingenfelter, Lightfoot, Mountz, Hutchins, and Mrs. Hamrick. In 
1880. L. M. Knowles began his first work, assisted by A. P. Warrington. In 1882, 
Dr. P. J. Williams's name first appears in the list of instructors. In 1884, W. M. Jay 
began the first of three successive years' work. From 1885 to 1892, inclusive, the 
following persons served as conductors: Dr. P. J. Williams, Mrs. M. M. Carson, Dr # 
M. E. Phillips and Prof. L. Tomlin. The instructors were: W. M. Jay, M. M. Gar- 
son, C. M. Kingsley, J. A. Butcher, Wm. Farquharson, S. B. Todd, C. M. Roberts, W. 
G. McGee, L. Tomlin, H. Winsor, Geo. W. Durham and I. E. Swain. Many of these 
instructors served in two and three normals. L. M. Knowles served five different 
times; Doctor Williams and Mrs, Carson each six different times. 

From 1886 to 1892, the meetings were held in the courthouse, then removed to 
the new high-school building. The institutes having the largest attendance are: 
1889, enrollment 270, and 1890, enrollment 287, with J. W. Hoover county superin- 
tendent. 

Sumner county is not only the Caanan of home seekers, but also a modern De- 
capolis, with its 10 centers of learning. According to the Kansas statutes, we have 
two cities of the second class and eight of the third class, and several prosperous 
villages besides. 

Of the last, Rome has a good building, and employs two teachers. Mayfield has 
made a rapid growth in the last five years; erected a new frame schoolhouse last 
year; employs three teachers, enrolls over 100 pupils, and is being carefully graded. 

The Milan school was organized in 1879. In 1882, had 62 pupils; in 1892, 132; 
paid for teachers' wages, $848; has an excellent stone building; employs two teach- 
ers. The first schoolhouse was built of cedar logs, from the Territory; roof of hay 
and floor of earth. It was called the " hay top." There were 25 pupils enrolled, 
with G. B. Lynch teacher. 

The first regular school building west and south of the great Arkansas river, 
and the first in Sumner county, was completed at Oxford on October 7, 1871. A few 
days later, Miss Mary Pearce, the first teacher in the county, began a select school 
in this building. It was built largely through the energy and liberality of Mr. Chas. 



216 History of Education in Kansas. 

Tilt on and other citizens; and this little frame schoolhouse has a history of its own. 
It first stood near the center of the town, but opposing factions caused its removal 
to various sites, until it found, at last, an Ararat in the western portion of the vil- 
lage. Then the town company, forgetting its whereabouts, sold the lot on which it 
stood to Anson Gridley, sr., who claimed the building. One day, in Mr. Gridley's 
absence, the citizens settled the dispute by putting it on wheels and moving it near 
the center of town again. A few years later, when a new schoolhouse was built, it 
was moved six miles south, and became known as the Jenkins schoolhouse. Ere 
long this district wanted a new building, and the little "knowledge box" was again 
sold, and converted into a residence. 

The first school district (No. 1) in the county was organized at Oxford in Janu- 
ary, 1872. According to one informant, it extended south to the Territory (20 miles), 
and, from the long list of sections enumerated, must have included about 400 square 
miles. However that may be, it is at present a district of ordinary size. The first 
school meeting was held in March, with T. E. Clark chairman, and J. H. Folks, sec- 
retary. Officers were elected, and, being already provided with a schoolhouse, they 
soon after arranged for the first public school, which opened May 6 and closed July 
27, with G. T. Mason teacher, at a salary of $60 per month. The old register shows 
an enrollment of 43, with a very irregular attendance. 

In 1874-75, the town company laid out a beautiful 10-acre campus on "College 
Hill," where a handsome stone building was soon after erected. It contains four 
rooms, halls, etc., but must soon give place to a more commodious structure. 

The present enrollment is about 250, and four teachers are employed. The total 
amount paid out for school purposes in 1892 was $2,431.28. The school owns a 
carefully-selected library of over 100 volumes, and has a small library fund accruing 
yearly. 

The course of study is marked by common-sense flexibility, rather than by 
"straight-jacket" rules. A class of seven was graduated last year, of whom five 
are now teaching. For the continued success of this school, and its present excel- 
lent condition, much credit is due Wm. M. Massey, who has served six years as prin- 
cipal. 

Belle Plaine comes in for second honors, as to time, in school affairs. Soon after 
the town company was chartered, in 1871, the members and other citizens began to 
plan for schools. The first school was taught in the winter of 1871-'72, by James 
Mason, who, at his own expense, fitted up the garret of the Potter building with 
rough desks of native cottonwood lumber. It was a subscription school of three 
months; enrollment, 18. 

The organization of school district No. 2 was not formally completed until early 
in 1872, by T. S. Mason, county superintendent. A description of its almost limit- 
less boundaries would lead to the inference that right here originated the popular 
phrase "wanted the whole earth." It was reduced to ordinary limits later. 

On May 6, 1872, (Oxford's first date, also,) Miss Olive North began the first pub- 
lic school, a term of three months, at a salary of $28.33i per month, enrolling 23 
pupils. 

A small frame house was rented for school purposes, and this building continued 
in use until 1877, when it was purchased by G. A. Hamilton and removed to the 
Yewell Griffith farm, one mile east of town. 

On October 1, 1877, bonds to the amount of $1,200 were voted to erect a two- 
room frame building. J. W. McDonald donated three lots, and by January 2, 1878, 
the schoolhouse was completed, and first occupied by R. S. O'Mealy, at a salary of 
$60 per month; enrollment, 80. From this time, the teaching force gradually in- 
creased until 1890, when five teachers, the present number, were employed. 













FIRST SCHOOL BUILDING IN SUMNER COUNTY, 
And the first south and west of the Arkansas river. Completed at Oxford, October 7, 1871. 




PRESENT SCHOOL BUILDING, OXFORD. 



Sumner County. 217 

In 1888, under the superintendency of Mr. D. A. Iliff, a course of study, embrac- 
ing the ordinary grades and two years' high-school work, was adopted and published. 
Since that date, the schools have been carefully graded, and certificates issued to 
those who complete the course. The first class, five young ladies, graduated in April, 
1889, and the alumni now number 23, 12 of whom are teachers. The school's growth 
is best seen by contrast. In 1872, pupils 23, teacher's salary $28.33i; in 1882, pupils 
160, principal's salary $60; in 1892, pupils 250, principal's salary $90; and total 
amount expended for school purposes, $3,139.55. The present value of school prop- 
erty, $10,700; a library worth $200. 

The first two-room building, after a few years' respite as an agricultural hall for 
the Belle Plaine Fair Association, was last year moved back to its former site, and 
is again used for school purposes. The present large, convenient brick edifice was 
completed in 1884, at a cost of $7,000. The premises are supplied with good walks, 
and are neatly fenced and ornamented with trees. The school is now prepared to 
extend its advantages to the surrounding country, and this year 15 tuition students 
are enrolled. Under the efficient management of Mr. Iliff, aided by the intelligent 
people of the vicinity, this school is one of the most flourishing in the county. 

Mulvane, on the northern boundary line of the county, is a joint district, partly 
in Sedgwick county, organized in the summer of 1880. Bonds to the amount of 
$2,500 were voted; a good frame building of four rooms erected and furnished; and 
the first school opened on the 18th of October, with L. Lightfoot, principal, salary 
$45 per month, and Mrs. J. E. Shaw, assistant, salary $35. Mr. Lightfoot served 
until 1883. From 1885 to 1890, J. A. Butcher, now superintendent of Pratt schools, 
devoted five years of untiring effort to the upbuilding of this school. He established 
a 10-years course of study, the last two forming the high-school department. J. 
V. Colville, the present superintendent of Sedgwick county, served one year; then, 
in 1891, 0. W. Jones, the present principal, took charge, at a salary of $80 per 
month. Much praise is due Mr. Jones and his four able assistants for the excellent, 
flourishing condition of the school. Present enrollment, 259. Four classes have 
graduated, numbering 24 in all — 13 boys and 11 girls. In 1892, the enterprising 
people of Mulvane erected an elegant brick edifice for their schools. It is ample in 
accommodations, modern in all its appliances, and beautiful in structure. 

Conway Springs is situated in the northwest part of the county. In the fall of 
1885, soon after the town was started, the present school building was erected. It 
is a neat two-story frame, containing four rooms and basement. The first school 
began in January, 1886, with J. J. Booth as principal. The school had been graded 
to some extent from the first, and a few higher branches had been taught. 

In 1888, a course of study was formally adopted, and common-school diplomas 
were awarded to two students in 1889. 

From 1889 to 1892, I. E. Swain, now superintendent of the Harper city schools, 
devoted his best energies to advancing the educational interests of Conway Springs, 
and of Sumner county generally. During this period, there were 11 graduates 
from the adopted course. This year, B. F. Freas, assisted by three lady teachers, is 
continuing the good work; enrollment, 225. The growth of the school, like that of 
the town, has been rapid and prosperous. Teachers are well paid; the principals 
receive $75 per month. 

The village of Argonia began in 1880, but its schoolhouse was for four years 
thereafter one mile east of town; hence the first terms were private schools, taught 
in rented rooms. In 1884, the first public-school building was erected, and Mr. 
Vaughn and two lady teachers were employed. Since then the first building has been 
added to and improved, so that it now contains four good rooms. Present enroll- 
ment, 150; three teachers; J. C. Colin, principal. The town is growing, and the 



218 History of Education in Kansas. 

schools will also inirpove. This little eity had the first lady mayor in the world, 
Mrs. L. A. Salter. 

Hunnewell, on the south line of the county, was started June 16, 1880, the day 
the railroad was completed to that point. For several years it was a great trading 
point for cattle men, and its population increased so rapidly that in 1881 it was 
organized as a city of the third class. School district No; 156 was established in 
September, 1880. and short terms were taught in rented rooms by J. O. Brewster 
and others. In 1881-'82, a good stone building was completed, at a cost of $2,500, 
and was first occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard; enrollment, 102. Good schools 
have been sustained, although the population has greatly diminished in the last few 
years. In 1892, the enrollment was 90, with J. N. Bunce, principal. 

South Haven built its first schoolhouse in 1873, which cost $1,500; and in the 
early autumn, L. A. Spece began the first school. The town and school have had a 
gradual, steady growth. Some years two and others three teachers are employed. 
In 1882, its enrollment was 42, and in 1892 was 155; A. E. Alexander, principal. 

Geuda Springs, started in 1881-'82, on the southeast county line, has a good four- 
room brick school building, erected in 1885, which cost $5,000; employs four teach- 
ers, two males and two females; present enrollment, 150. The district is partly in 
Cowley county; hence its school interests are somewhat divided, but flourishing; L« 
C. Brown, principal. 

Caldwell, a city of the seeond class, on the southwest border, organized its first 
school district September 21, 1872, and built its first frame schoolhouse at a cost of 
$1,200. In 1880, a two-room frame was built, costing $1,700. In 1882, this was sup- 
planted by the present elegant brick building, erected at a cost of $15,000. It con- 
tains eight rooms and basement, and is supplied with all modern improvements as 
to heating and other conveniences. The school has grown to such an extent that 
two additional rooms are rented for lower grades. 

In 1892, the enrollment reached 640; 10 teachers, including the superintendent, 
were employed. Amount paid for teachers' wages, $5,058; total for school purposes, 
$7,570.61. The library includes 600 well-selected volumes. The school was carefully 
graded by C. M. Kingsley, now of Boulder, Colo., who was superintendent from 1886 
to 1890. It includes the ordinary grades and a high-school department, in which the 
English course is three years, and Latin course four years. 

Five classes have graduated, numbering 37 in all. Twenty per cent, of the high- 
school students are from outside the city, which shows the excellent reputation of 
the school under the superintendency of J. F. Clark, with Miss Mary Vasey, princi- 
pal of the high school. 

Sumner county people are enthusiastic in their appreciation and support of the 
public schools. There are 37 more districts than in any other county in the State. 
It must have been this " western Eden" of which Benj. Franklin wrote: "A bible and 
a newspaper in every house, and a good school in every district, are the chief sup- 
port of virtue, morality, and civil liberty." 

"Wellington. — Material prosperity and education go hand in hand; hence, a 
history of the schools of Wellington, the county seat and principal city of Sumner 
county, forms an important page in the growth and development of southwest Kan- 
sas. Let us glance at the work of two decades in this city. 

"In the beginning," April 2, 1871, the town site was located by Dr. P. A. Wood, 
Capt. L. K. Myers, and others. In the winter of 1871-'72, a private school was taught 
by Mrs. B. Cooley. The first school district ( No. 6) was organized early in 1872, and 
$1,500 in bonds voted to build a schoolhouse. 

This neat frame structure of one room was completed by September 16, 1872> 
and John T. Showalter began the first public school in Wellington; salary, $50 per 




THIRD-WARD SCHOOL BUILDING, WELLINGTON. 



Sumner County. 219 

month; enrollment, 50. Mr. Showalter is still an honored citizen; has represented 
the people in the State Legislature, and filled other responsible business positions; 
at present, is Assistant Bank Examiner. 

In 1873-74, J. A. Ryland, now living near Caldwell, taught six months; during 
the last three months 103 were enrolled, and Miss Lizzie Campbell, the first lady 
teacher in the city schools, was employed as assistant. 

In 1874, J. V. Ratliffe served as principal. He was a prominent teacher of the 
county, and later was elected three different times to the office of county superin- 
tendent. 

Principals from 1875-79: A. M. Vallandingham, J. P. Jones, L. H. Roberts, and 
O. F. McKim. 

In June, 1879, district No. 6 was changed to a graded school, and, on October 
27, school opened in the new brick building, with A. P. Warrington superintendent. 

In 1880, a course of study including 10 grades, three years high school, was 
adopted, and the school graded as well as circumstances would allow. The board of 
education this year organized with eight members, two from each of the four wards. 
J. H. Folks was elected president, and Mrs. E. B. Carter clerk, which position she 
held, by reelection, for nine years. 

In 1881-'82, M. M. McEwan, a Baptist minister, was superintendent. 

Supt. H. A. McLean, now attorney at Marion, Kas., was elected in 1882. In over- 
crowded rooms he continued the established grades, assisted by five other teachers, 
and he kindly refers to that year as one of the most pleasant and profitable of his 
life. 

From 1883 to 1887, the schools were superintended by Walter M. Jay, now head 
master of St. John's Military Institute, Salina, Kas. He found the same unfavorable 
conditions, increased by the overflow of people and the restlessness of a " boom." 
During this period, the population increased from 3,500 to 7,500, and, to meet the 
growing demand, three new, substantial school buildings were erected. 

The school board, now composed of 12 members, used every possible means to 
provide for the comfort and education of the children, and also for the ornamenta- 
tion of the grounds. Each school yard, including a whole block, was fenced, walks 
made, trees planted, and hydrants conveniently located. 

In 1885, at the suggestion of the superintendent, a library fund was started by 
setting aside the teachers' examination fees and tuition from outside pupils. Dur- 
ing his stay, 350 volumes were purchased, and library regulations adopted. 

As another step toward permanent success, a new course of study, providing for 
eight years in the common branches and a three-years high-school department, was, 
with rules and regulations, adopted and printed. 

The first class (four young men and two young ladies) graduated in 1886. Says 
Mr. Jay: "The marvelous change in the condition of the schools and their environ- 
ments during those four years was no less pleasing than astonishing." 

In 1887, Dr. M. E. Phillips, now president of Winfield College, was chosen super- 
intendent. The third new building in the northwest part of the city was just being 
opened for school purposes; and this necessitated a redistricting of the city, and, to 
some extent, a relocation of grades. A few changes, too, were made in the course of 
study and methods of classification. Mr. Phillips labored with tireless energy, but 
one year was hardly sufficient to perfect many of his excellent plans. 

From 1888 to 1891, Mr. L. Tomlin, now superintendent of the El Dorado schools, 
had charge of these schools. Three busy, successful years marked his superintend- 
ency; they were not marked by any special changes in school matters — none were 
needed. The population was decreasing, but those who remained were here to stay. 
Latin, mental science and chemistry were introduced into the high school. Super- 



220 History of Education in Kansas. 

intendent Tomlin endeavored to aid the teachers in the symmetrical development of 
every pupil in every grade. In 1891, a class of 19 was graduated; thus, in five 
years, increasing the high school alumni to 62 members. 

In 1891, Mr. John A. McClain was elected superintendent; and a hearty com- 
mendation of his first year's work was shown in his reelection, with an increase of 
salary, in 1892. The changes made, and his methods of work, will be fully under- 
stood by reading his report, kindly prepared for this history. 

In the upbuilding of Wellington schools, the presence, the influence and the abil- 
ity of woman should be recognized. During the most difficult and trying period in 
its history, 1882-'91, only one gentleman, the superintendent, was employed each 
year. All the high-school teachers and ward principals, as well as grade teachers, 
were ladies. Some of the most noted among these teachers are: In the high school, 
Miss Bertha Price and Mrs. M. M. Carson; assistants, Mrs. M. E. Ready and Miss 
Maude Price. Ward principals, E. T. Norris, Maggie Pray, Hannah G. Miller, and 
Grace Thorp. Since 1891, H. F. M. Bear, O. P. Phillips, and J. C. Dyche, in the high 
school, and H. P. Butcher, in the wards, are worthy of special mention. 

Music, as a regular branch, of study, was introduced in 1885, with Mr. Gantvoort 
teacher; then Mr. S. W. Holmes continued the work five years, accomplishing excel- 
lent results in developing and training the children's voices. 

Any board of education that undertakes the management of school affairs in a 
growing town deserves honorable mention in its educational history. The allotted 
space forbids more than the names of chief officers. List of presidents: J. H. Folks, 
F. B. West, Dr. O. W. Barnett, James Holland, E. Barrett; and J. T. Sanders, several 
times, a member eight years; Geo. H. Hunter, several times, a member of the board 
11 years. Clerks: J. P. Jones, F. B. West, Mrs. E. B. Carter, Ret. Millard, and C. E. 
Hitchcock. 

The first frame building of one room was completed in 1872, and stood in the 
northeast part of the town until 1879, when it was removed to the north side of 
third-ward school block. Here "the little white schoolhouse" continued in use 
until 1887, 15 years in all, when it was purchased by the Episcopal congregation, 
moved one block north, and fitted up as St. Paul's Chapel. It was utterly demolished 
by the cyclone of May 27, 1892. 

In 1879, the second building, a two-story brick, containing four large rooms, 
office, etc., was erected on third-ward block, near the center of the city. Within 
five years rumors were afloat that it was unsafe. During heavy windstorms its 
tremblings were quite noticeable, and teachers and pupils were in constant anxiety. 
In 1890, it was condemned, torn down, and its site used for the new high-school 
building. 

In the fifth ward, a neat, convenient building of three rooms, located in the south 
part of the city, was completed in 1886. Its well-kept grounds win general admira- 
tion. 

The fourth ward, built in 1887, occupies elevated ground in the northeast part of 
the city, on Chestnut street, fronting east. It contains six rooms, supplied with all 
modern conveniences. In structure, it is a wonder of architectural beauty. 

The first-ward building, to all Wellington people, has a sacred history. It was a 
large, beautiful structure of brick and stone, containing eight rooms, office, halls, 
and basement, located in the eastern part of the city, and completed in 1884. 

Here the high school was formally organized, and here it assembled for six years. 
From these walls went forth the first five graduating classes, numbering 43 in all. 

Here the superintendent and board of education met to plan for the best inter- 
ests of Wellington schools. Here was started a school library, which in five years 
grew from nothing to 1,000 choice volumes. 




W^ W:.~ 

ni 







\ : ' '•:... "... : 



&<i.mmmi 






ft 

!•. f.. 



«k»,; 








Sumner County. 221 

Here, on the warm afternoon of May 27, 1892, on its beautiful campus, the happy 
children played; nor dreamed, as the ranks marched out at half-past four, that those 
halls would never again echo to the tread of children's footsteps. 

Toward the sunset, "a cloud like to a man's hand," soon after nightfall, became 
an appalling horror — the cyclone. The strong, beautiful building, with all it con- 
tained, was a mass of shapeless ruins. 

Finally, let us measure progress by 10-year milestones: In 1872, one schoolroom, 
one teacher; salary, $50; and 50 pupils. 

In 1882, six rooms, six teachers — two males, average salary, $62.50; four females, 
average salary, $40; enrollment, 546 — males, 274; females, 272; total amount of 
teachers' salaries, $2,666.25; estimated value of school property, $10,000. 

In 1892, four buildings, 28 rooms; 24 teachers — males, 4; females, 20; pupils en- 
rolled, 1,264— males, 619; females, 645; total amount paid teachers, $10,652.50; av- 
erage salaries — males, $101.66; females, $47.13. 

*The public schools of Wellington include eight years' work in the grades, and 
four in the high school. There are 16 grades below the high school. They are des- 
ignated 1 B, 1 A, 2 B, 2 A, etc., to 8 A, the last grade below the high school. Each 
room contains two grades. The first primaries are run on the half-day plan, having 
two grades in the forenoon session, and two different grades in the afternoon session. 
Thus these rooms each do two years' work while the others do but one. 

Promotions are made every half year, and are based upon the every-day work 
mainly. Doubtful cases are conditioned. The above methods of grading and pro- 
moting was introduced by the present superintendent. 

The first eight years' work includes reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, lan- 
guage lessons, grammar, geography, physiology, United States history, business 
forms, and music. The course in the high school includes algebra, geometry, analy- 
sis of English sentences, composition, rhetoric, civil government, English history, 
general history, two years' Latin, botany, bookkeeping, physical geography, physics, 
physiology, chemistry, and a review of the common branches during the last half 
year of the course. The high-school course was extended from three to four years 
and revised, at the beginning of the year 1891-'92. 

Pupils are graduated once each year from the high school. 

At present, there are no special teachers for music and penmanship. 

There are now 24 teachers employed. The superintendent receives $1,500, the 
high school principal $100 per month, and his assistant $75. Ward principals re- 
ceive $60 for a four-room building or less, and the salary is increased $5 for each 
additional two rooms. Eighth grade teachers receive $55 per month. The first pri- 
mary teachers receive from $45 to $52.50 per month. All others receive from $40 to 
$50 per month. A teacher receives the minimum price for her first year, and for 
each succeeding year the salary is increased $2.50 until the maximum is reached. 
There has been a marked departure in the present administration, in the employ- 
ment of male teachers for the high school and as principals of ward schools. The 
average wages paid male teachers this year is $101.66, including the superintendent; 
the average for female teachers is $47.13; or a general average of $56.22. 

The teachers assemble in a general meeting on the third Saturday of each school 
month for recitation from standard works on teaching. All the teachers of each 
year's work meet once every two weeks for instruction in methods of their special 
work. 

There are now three school buildings, two of brick and one of stone. All the 
buildings have large halls and convenient cloak rooms. Our new stone building 
was completed in November, 1891. It is a beautiful three-story building, and does 

* Report by John A. McClain, superintendent, Wellington. 



222 Hi story of Education in Kansas. 

great credit to the interest which the people of Wellington take in the cause of 
popular education. It is quite modern in all its appointments, having water, dust 
flues, and a fire hose on each floor, and a teacher's closet in each room. On the 
third floor is the auditorium, seated with 578 opera chairs of the best pattern. 
The high school has purchased a $600 piano for it, and has it now half paid for by 
entertainments. There are also two large dressing rooms connected with the stage 
in the auditorium, which are used for schoolrooms since the tornado destroyed the 
first-ward building. The two brick buildings are heated by steam. The stone build- 
ing has the Smead system of heating and ventilating. 

The people of Wellington take much pride in their school grounds. They are 
planted with a variety of beautiful trees, and the lawns are nicely sodded in blue 
grass. 

The water supply for drinking purposes is furnished from cisterns, and for lawn 
purposes by the waterworks. 

The library at present contains about 700 volumes. But few books have been 
added to it during the past year. All the funds available for that purpose have 
been used to purchase apparatus, of which the schools had none. 

There have been about $200 worth of chemical and physical apparatus purchased 
for the high school during the past year, and we have raised $120 by entertain- 
ments with which to purchase school aids for the lower primaries. The board is 
considering now the purchase of about $300 worth of maps and globes for the 
schools. 

For the year 1891-'92, the schools enrolled 619 males, 645 females; total, 1,264. 
The high school enrolled 90. 

It is claimed that we have reached the legal limit of our bonded indebtedness, 
and, at present, no way is open for us to rebuild the first-ward building, destroyed 
last May by the tornado. The work has been very much hindered from want of room 
this year, but there is a good feeling toward the schools, and, on the whole, they are 
prospering as well as progressing. 

Private School. — At Conway Springs is the Conway Normal Business Insti- 
tute, which was established in 1886, through the efforts of W. E. Beatty, then prin- 
cipal of a business school at Wellington. Money was raised by selling scholarships, 
and the building begun in 1888. Mr. Beatty failing financially, its management was 
assumed by Mr. S. T>. Crane, and the building completed June 1, 1890. It is a sub- 
stantial brick structure, two stories high, with a large dining hall in the basement. 
It is located on a beautiful eminence, overlooking the famous springs and the city. 
May 19, 1890, Mr. Crane and Miss Effie Barnette began a seven-weeks session, for 
teachers and students desiring review work; enrolled 30 pupils. In 1891, there were 
11 graduates from its various departments. In 1892, there were graduates as fol- 
lows: Normal department, 3; business, 3; and stenography, 4. Present enrollment, 
110. There will be 12 graduates. Of last year's students, 95 per cent, have returned 
this year, which augurs a prosperous future. Mr. Crane deserves much credit fur 
the pluck and determination with which he is pushing on to success, and this being 
the only private institution of learning in the county, it ought to receive a cordial 
support. 



Wabaunsee County. 223 



WABAUNSEE COUNTY.* 

The first school district organized in Wabaunsee county became a body corpo- 
rate on the 4th day of October, 1859, when Joshua Smith, director, George A. Dibble, 
clerk, and Enoch Piatt, treasurer, qualified as the board of directors of school dis- 
trict No. 1, of the town of Wabaunsee. Shortly after the formation of district No. 1, 
Mr. Joshua Smith resigned the position of director, and Mr. L. A. Parker was ap- 
pointed to fill the vacancy, on the 28th of November of the same year. When first 
formed, district No. 1 included the whole of Wabaunsee township, but very soon the 
superintendent of public instruction was requested to form another district in the 
same township. This was accomplished on the 15th day of October, 1859, when the 
following officers of district No. 2 were qualified: Joshua Smith, director; S. A.Bald- 
win, clerk; and W. F. Cotton, treasurer. 

In the autumn of 1859, one more district was formed, called No. 1 of the township 
of Mission Creek, and now called No. 4. It is claimed by the old settlers of district 
No. 4 that their district ought to have been called No. 1, because they had built a log 
schoolhouse and maintained a private school there at least two years before the first 
public school was organized at Wabaunsee. 

In the year 1859, the first public school of Wabaunsee county was taught by Miss 
M. H. Cotton (now Mrs. J. T. Genn), in district No. 1. The house occupied was a 
frame structure 14x20 feet, which had been built for a church. 

In 1860, the first public school of Mission Creek township was taught in a log 
schoolhou e, by Miss Anna Keyes, at a salary of $4.50 per week. 

The first schoolhouse in district No. 3 was built of logs (size, 12x16 ft.), in 1862. 

Miss Milda Gillespie was the first teacher. Miss Jennette Rose taught the same 
school in 1863, at a salary of $8 per month. 

District No. 5 was organized June 2, 1860, as No. 2 of the town of Mission Creek. 
Miss Mary Garrison taught the first school in this district, in 1860, at a salary of $4 
per week, in a log schoolhouse 14 x 16 feet. Miss Garrison afterwards became the 
wife of Doctor Allen, ex-Secretary of State for Kansas. 

The schoolhouse in district No. 9 was built of clapboards set up endways. Miss 
Emma Bisbey taught the fir^t schqpl in the district, in 1863, at a salary of $8 per 
school month. 

District No. 12, formerly in Wilmington township, now in Plumb, was one of the 
early schools of the county, where Miss Susan Andress taught in a log schoolhouse, 
in 1863, at a salary of $10 per month. 

A log schoolhouse was built in district No. 14 as early as 1863, and G. B. Wood- 
strow taught the first school in the district, at a salary of $19.50 per month. 

In district No. 24, the last log schoolhouse in the county was built in 1869, and 
replaced by a stone building in 1884. 

The county superintendent's report for 1862 credits Wabaunsee county with 10 
school districts, two of which had no school during the preceding year. In 1863, 15 
districts were reported, two of which had no school. The report for 1866 gives 17 
districts, four of which had no school. During this year, the highest salary paid 
was in district No. 1, to Jesse S. Hake, $50 per month for three months. Miss Emma 
Bisbey taught the same school three months during the summer, at $25 per month. 
A summary of the same report shows a school population of 423 persons, 302 of 
whom attended school. Teachers' salaries amounted to $1,120, and school buildings 
were valued at $3,945. The report for 1867 gives a total school population of 508. 
This year, the average salaries paid to teachers were: Male, $35.44, female, $27.12 ^/ 

*By Miss Florence Dickinson and Oh L. Clothieb. 



224 History of Education in Kansas. 

per month. In 1868, the number of districts had increased to 26, with a school pop- 
ulation of 646. The buildings were valued at $5,965, 10 of which were of logs, two 
stone, and five frame. Nine districts had no buildings. The report for 1871 showed 
that our county had 32 school districts, with 1,207 pupils of school age and 30 teach- 
ers employed; average number of months that school was maintained, 4.8. We at 
this time had five log houses, 11 frame, and six stone. Nine buildings were erected 
during the year. The report for 1875 gives a total of 1,659 school population, in- 
structed by 70 teachers; school buildings and grounds were valued at $36,825. We 
had five log houses, 27 frame, and 11 stone. Wabaunsee county schools had become 
established. 

The report of Superintendent Dickinson, for the year 1892, shows that our county 
has 84 school districts, with 88 buildings, valued, together with grounds, at $73,675. 
During the year there was spent for school purposes the sum of $40,882.83; 101 dif- 
ferent teachers were employed in the 96 rooms, receiving average salaries of $45.21 
per month for males, and $37.10 for females. 

In tracing the history of our public schools, we learn that the pioneer was anx- 
ious to see his children educated. We find that our difficulties as teachers are not 
to be compared with those of the teacher in the early 60's, who received the paltry 
sum of $8 or $10 per month for her services. 

While our own Kansas was still a Territory, three centers, of civilization, marked 
by the influence of the public school, had been formed in our county. At Wabaun- 
see, a colony of educated New Englanders led the way, by giving us our first county 
superintendent of public instruction, Prof. J. E. Piatt, and by organizing the first 
two legal school districts. In the east and southeast parts of the county, a colony 
of Pennsylvanians were no less active in the cause of education, subsequently fur- 
nishing us with at least five county superintendents. The central and western parts 
of our county were settled largely by Germans, who did not lose their interest in the 
public school when they crossed the Atlantic. Districts 8, 9, 10 and 14 were formed 
among this class of people. 

The first teachers' institute was held in the summer of 1869, at Wabaunsee. It 
lasted four days. The first normal institute of Wabaunsee county was held at Alma, 
in the summer of 1877, and lasted four weeks, with W. E. Richey as superintendent 
and E. L. Ripley conductor. There have been held 16 annual institutes at the county 
seat, with a total enrollment of 1,294 students, and an average enrollment of 80|. 
Of our normal institutes, E. L. Ripley conducted four; 0. F. McKim, one; H. D. 
McCarty, one; C. Y. Roop, six; H. G. Larimer, two; and G. W. Kendrick, two. 

In the early days, our county had the good fortune to have men of liberal educa- 
tion at the head of educational affairs. J. E. Piatt was a student of Illinois College, 
and afterwards one of the professors in the Agricultural College for nearly 20 years. 
J. H. Gould was a man of good education and rare executive ability. Robert M. 
Tunnell, now principal of Fairmount Institute, Wichita, was a graduate of Illinois 
College, Jacksonville, 111. Though he did not serve us long, he left the imprint of 
his influence upon our institutions. W. E. Richey was a man of classical training, 
and during his three years' superintendence the normal institute became a fixed part 
of our system. 

Matt. Thomson, now editor of the Alma Signal, was at the head of our schools 
for 10 years. It is he who has furnished us with much of the information found in 
this history. While superintendent he made two maps of the county, with pictures 
of every schoolhouse in the county on the margins surrounding the maps. These 
were made at different dates, showing the progress of the county in the building of 
schoolhouses. Mr. Thompson has made numerous other maps and drawings, illus- 
trating the growth of our educational facilities. 



Washington County. 



225 



Mr. W. W. Ramey is a well-educated gentleman, now superintendent of schools at 
Waverly, Kas. His principal work with us consisted in the grading of our district 
schools. 

The present superintendent has not introduced any striking innovations, nor at- 
tempted to achieve fame. Her efforts have been directed towards the elevation of 
the standard of excellence of our teachers, and thus the elevation of all the schools 
of the county. How well she has accomplished her mission will not be written in 
this paper, but will be left for others to tell in the future. 

The following is a list of the superintendents of public instruction since the or- 
ganization of our schools: 



NAME. 


When elected or 
appointed. 


Remarks. 


J. E. Piatt 


Mar. 

Dec. 

Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 

Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Feb. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 


28, 1859 .... 

21,1859.... 

7, 1865 .... 
3, 1868 .... 

8, 1870 .... 

7, 1871 .... 
5, 1872 .... 

3, 1874 .... 

1, 1875 .... 

2, 1875 .... 

5, 1878 .... 

6, 1888 .... 

4, 1890 .... 

8, 1892 .... 


Degree of A. M. conferred upon him by Agricul- 
cultural Collge while teaching there. 


J. H Gould 






T. M. Allen 




R. M. Tunnell, A. M 


For many years pastor Congregational Church, 

Manhattan. 
Farmer, residing at Wabaunsee. 


W. F. Cotton 


W. S. McCormick 


F. W. Kroenke 

J. M. Lingf elter 


Photographer and teacher; resides at Wabaunsee. 
Farmer, residing near Harveyville. 
Editor Alma Signal. 


W. E. Richey 


W. W. Ramey 




Superintendent of public instruction, Alma. Kas. 
Superintendent elect; assumes office Jan., 1893. 


George L. Clothier, B. Sc 



In 1889, the grading of our schools was accomplished by the adoption of Speer's 
Course of Study. Since the adoption of this course of study, 99 students have re- 
ceived diplomas. This feature promises to exert a great influence for good in the 
future. 

The teachers of our county have been for many years organized into a county 
association, but it is only within the past few years that any great amount of inter- 
est has been taken in the work. The reading-circle work is now combined with the 
association, and meetings are held monthly, instead of quarterly, as formerly; 95 
teachers are enrolled as members, 78 of whose names appear upon the printed pro- 
grams for the year 1892-'93. We own a teachers' library of 49 volumes, treating of 
pedagogics, natural science, and various other subjects. 

Six of our schools employ more than one teacher — one employs five;, one, four; 
and four, two each. Persons reported of school age for last year, 4,198, with an en- 
rollment of 3,000 pupils in all our schools. 

In the past history of our schools we rejoice, for the present we are anxiously de- 
sirous of doing our duty, and for the future we have none but the brightest of hopes. 



WASHINGTON COUNTY.* 

The first settlement was made in January of 1857. The county was organized, 
by a special act of the Territorial Legislature, in April, 1860. Being settled largely 
from Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio, by people with Northern ideas of 
free schools, it was but natural that the first thoughts of the pioneers should turn 
toward the education of their children, who were the larger half of their earthly 
possessions. There is something heroic in the efforts and sacrifices that were made 

*By H. C. Robinson. 
—15 



220 History of Education in Kansas. 

in this attempt to better the condition of their offspring. It was the rule, for peo- 
ple living in huts and shanties and subsisting upon the plainest necessaries of life, 
to vote burdensome taxes upon themselves, and, incidentally, upon the nonresident 
landholders as well, that the youth of the country might have all the advantages of 
a public-school education, such as could be obtained in older and more wealthy 
States. Nothing was more conspicuous in the early 70's than the contrast between 
the white schoolhouses with their green blinds, that crowned the hill tops, and the 
humble homes that furnished the pupils. 

An annual tax of 2 per cent, upon the assessed valuation of the property of the 
districts was gladly voted, which was supplemented by a bond tax, to pay for the 
commodious and well-furnished schoolhouses. 

Bird's Historical Plat Book, published in 1882, introduces the subject, "Educa- 
tional," with the following paragraph: 

"The first impulse of the people upon whom devolved the responsibility of giv- 
ing form to society in primitive Washington county, was to inaugurate a system of 
education which should, in the future, insure a safe foundation for permanent pros- 
perity. The progress in this direction was at first necessarily slow, but, as the pop- 
ulation increased, the demands were readily met, until to-day neat schoolhouses — 
those monuments of Western progress — adorn every prairie and valley in the 
county." 

School district No. 1 was organized in 1861, and included within its boundaries 
the then new "city" of Washington, county seat of the county; and here, in a log 
cabin (the floor of which was the solid earth, the roof of dirt, the chimney built of 
sticks and mud) which stood a short distance west of where the Presbyterian Church 
now stands, the first school of the county was held, in the spring of 1861, being a 
subscription school, taught by Miss Agnes Hallowell, now Mrs. Philip Darby. The 
number of pupils enrolled was between 15 and 20. 

The first school supported by public money was taught by Wm. McLosky the 
following winter, 1861-'62, also in Washington, in what was known as the "Com- 
pany" house — a log building put up by Geo. W. Pierce and D. E. Ballard. 

One of the earliest schools in the county was taught by D. A. Murdock, in what 
is now district No. 2, in Charleston township. A school was taught by George Sea- 
bury, in the early 60's. not far from where Clifton now stands. L. Sleepy taught a 
subscription school, in what is now Little Blue township, in 1862. The first school- 
house in Little Blue township, and the third in the county, was built in district No. 3, 
in 1866, the first term in the new house being taught by Eliza Burk. 

John M. Hoffhine, who was elected at a special election held in April, 1860, was 
the first superintendent of public instruction. He was reelected in November, 1861, 
but seems to have not qualified. There is no record of a superintendent from this 
time until 1866, when Joseph Pasko was elected for a term of two years. His syn- 
opsis of reports of the districts for the year 1868 is the oldest record now in pos- 
session of the county. It is found, with other information of interest, in a small, 
red-covered book, 7^x6 inches, and one-half inch thick, which has by some strange 
accident escaped two courthouse fires, and which was rescued by the writer, in 1881, 
from a heap of waste paper and rubbish. This "synopsis," made 11 years after the 
first settlement, contains the earliest definite information we have as to the school 
interests of the county. The reports of nine districts and five joint districts are 
tabulated, showing a grand total of 405 persons of school age — 213 males, 192 
females. The average daily attendance is given at 191, for the county, and nearly 
14 for each district. The total amount paid out for teachers' wages during the year, 
$1,016, $250 of which was paid by district No. 1. The average salary paid teachers 
was $19.50 per month. The aggregate value of eight schoolhouses, all log, is given 
as §1,075. The average term of school was about 15 weeks. 



Washington County. 227 

The two semiannual dividends for 1868 apportioned to this county amounted to 
$159.75, and were divided among districts Nos. 1, 2, 4, 10, and 26, indicating that those 
five were the only districts sustaining school during the year 1867. Rev. John Pal- 
mer was elected superintendent in the fall of 1868, and reelected in the fall of 1870, 
serving four years. During his term came the great tide of immigration of 1869 
and 1870, which made the organization of many new districts necessary. Mr. Palmer 
was a popular preacher, with a large fund of patience, and was disposed to be ac- 
commodating in the adjustment of district lines; but it is said that the last year of 
the good man's term was made a burden to him by the sharp controversies over 
district boundaries. In the published proceedings of the county commissioners, 
under date of July 12, 1869, a copy of which is now in possession of Hon. D. E. Bal- 
lard, we find the following item: "John Palmer, services as county superintendent 
20 days, $60." This is the earliest evidence we have that this officer received pay 
for his services. In the spring of 1873, the courthouse burned, with all the records 
of the superintendent's office, (repeating the misfortune of three years before,) and 
G. J. Main, who was elected superintendent in November of 1872, taking the office 
in January of 1873, sent out the following circular letter: 

Office of County Superintendent Public Schools, 
Washington, Kas., March 3, 1873. 
To the Clerk of School District No. — : 

Dear Sir — During the late fire all the records of this office were burned, and in order to make 
proper apportionment of the State school fund, it will be necessary that you report immediately 
whether you had school in your district during the year; also, the number of scholars in the district. 
Eespectfully, G. J. Main, Superintendent Public Schools. 

To which was appended the following note, in writing: "Please state the num- 
ber of children of school age, and number of months of school, for the year ending 
August 31, 1872." This circular was responded to by 57 district clerks, reporting 
1,785 persons of school age. Fifty districts reported as having had three or more 
months of school, the average being about 4i months. Beyond this there is no rec- 
ord of any kind for the four years during which John Palmer was superintendent, 
with this exception, however, that in the small red book, to which reference has been 
made, there is a record of a teachers' examination, held April 26, 1869, Orlando Saw- 
yer, Wm, Hoffhine and Superintendent Palmer constituting the board of examiners. 
Candidates for teachers' certificates were examined in orthography, reading, writing, 
arithmetic, geography, grammar, and history, and graded by the following scale: 
4, perfect; 3, good; 2, fair; 1, passable. Certificates were issued to Mrs. Mattie 
Bryan, T. J. Humes, Arthur A. Watkins, J. 0. Young, Rosa L. Munger, Miss E. Pa- 
trie, Adelia Moloney, Wayne Scott, and Ruth Scott. 

G. J. Main was superintendent four years; and, to continue the comparison by 
periods of four years each, the main points in his last annual report to the State 
Superintendent, made four years later than the one last noticed, show a marked ad- 
vance all along the line. The report shows: Total number of persons between five 
and 21, 3,237; number of persons enrolled in public schools, 2,585; average daily 
attendance, 1,698; number of teachers employed, male 59, female 64, total 123} av- 
erage salary per month paid male teachers $27.50, female $20.36; average number 
of weeks of school, 16 T 7 T ; number of schoolhouses in county, log 9, frame 64, stone 
16; estimated value of schoolhouses, including grounds, $50,524; estimated value of 
furniture, $3,502; amount expended during the year for school purposes, $16,- 
217.93. The schools of Washington and Hanover reported as "graded," each em- 
ploying two teachers. 

Matthew Stewart was superintendent four years, beginning with January of 1877. 
His last annual report shows: Persons of school age, male 2,781, female 2,589, total 
5,370, an increase of nearly 70 per cent, in four years; number of pupils enrolled, 



228 History of Education in Kansas. 

4.105: average daily attendance, 2,281; amount paid out during the year for school 
purposes, $29,453.73. 

The first normal institute was held during Mr. Stewart's term, in August of 1877, 
and conducted by Robert Hay, assisted by W. E. Cochran. This institute, which 
was held for four weeks, had an enrollment of 73. For some years before this, 
" teachers' associations,"' of three days' duration, were held each fall. 

H. C. Robinson was superintendent four years, from January, 1881. His annual 
report for 1884 shows: Persons of school age — males, 3,726; females, 3,425; total, 
7.151; number enrolled, 5,703; average daily attendance, 2,661; number of districts, 
120; average salary paid male teachers, $39.12; female, $31.92; average length of 
school in each district, 27 weeks; amount paid out during year for school purposes, 
$40,080 — an increase of 36 per cent, in four years; estimated value of school prop- 
erty, $80,000. 

C. H. Rice served four years as superintendent, from January, 1885. His annual 
report for the year ending May 31, 1887 (a copy of his 1888 report cannot be found), 
shows: Persons of school age — males, 4,202; females, 3,951; total, 8,153; number of 
pupils enrolled in school, 5,222; average daily attendance, 3,126; number of teachers 
employed, 150; average salary paid male teachers, $40; female, $33; average weeks 
of school, 32; estimated value of school property, $123,682; amount paid out during 
the year for school purposes, $55,248.38; number schools visited by superintendent, 
135; number enrolled in normal institute, 147; average attendance, 120. Mr. Rice 
was the first superintendent to make an attempt at grading country schools. 

Cortez Brown was superintendent two years, begining with January, 1889. His 
report for 1890, three years later than the one last quoted from, shows: School 
population, males 4,247, female 4,105, total 8,352; number enrolled, 6,505; average 
daily attendance, 3,675; average salary paid male teachers $42, female $34; aver- 
age length of school, 28 T 3 o 8 -g- weeks; estimated value of school property, $178,000; 
bonded indebtedness of school districts, $42,680. Number of schools visited by 
superintendent, 145. Amount paid out during the year for school purposes, $73,465. 
Ten districts are not included in this aggregate, owing to the fact that their finan- 
cial exhibits did not balance; therefore, these could not be used. This is the largest 
sum paid out for school purposes during any one year in the history of the county. 
Of this, however, $12,742 was for sites, buildings, and furniture. Number enrolled 
in normal institute, 151. 

The second annual report of Benjamin Pym, who is now serving his second year 
as superintendent, shows: School population, males 4,224, females 4,100, total 8,324; 
number enrolled, 6,623; average daily attendance, 3,833; number of different teach- 
ers employed, 200; salary paid teachers, males $41 per month, females $34; average 
length of school term, 29 weeks; number of schoolhouses, 150; number of school- 
rooms, 173; amount paid out for school purposes, $65,545.67; average attendance 
at normal institutes, 143; number enrolled, 180. During the last two years, teach- 
ers' associations have been successfully established, and now bid fair to become a 
permanent and beneficial feature of educational work. 

This is purely an agricultural county, with no large towns, and a population of 
about 25,000 people, in very moderate circumstances; yet the records of the past 
four years show a voluntary contribution of the surprising sum of $70,000 per year 
for schools. Washington now has a graded school, with an enrollment of 500, em- 
ploying 10 teachers. Greenleaf, Hanover, Clifton, Haddam and Barnes have graded 
schools also. 

The Friends' Academy, at Washington, now in its third year, is a growing institu- 
tion, with an enrollment of 140, and expects to be made a college in the near future. 



Wyandotte County. 229 



WYANDOTTE COUNTY.* 

Wyandotte county was one of the first counties organized under the State consti- 
tution. 

An active interest has been manifested by its citizens in educational matters from 
the time of its first settlement. Schools were organized for the education of the In- 
dian youth as early as 1850, at Wyandotte, and Mrs. Lucy B. Armstrong was one of 
the teachers who was foremost in this work. Among the early county superintend- 
ents, upon whom fell the duty of organizing the several school districts and laying 
the foundation for what has since been built, were Mr. D. B. Hadley, Mr. W. W. Dick- 
enson, and Mr. E. F. Heisler. 

Prior to the year 1870, 15 school districts had been organized, and were support- 
ing annual terms of school varying from three to nine months in length. There 
were only six good, comfortable schoolrooms in the whole number. The hard times 
of 1873, followed by the grasshoppers, had some effect in checking a growing de- 
mand for better and more liberal school advantages. Then the early settlers of this 
county were largely from States where the only schools were private schools, and 
they did not take readily to public education, and more especially to a public school 
that admitted a negro pupil. Several bitter fights were waged on this question, and 
at the annual school meetings the opposing factions rallied every voter possible? 
both male and female, to vote for or vote down the tax for the maintenance of the 
school. One or two schoolhouses were burned, while others were robbed of books. 
Some children were withdrawn from school on account of the negro children, and, 
in three districts, separate schools were organized, and are still maintained. The 
public-school idea, however, triumphed. From this conflict of opinion, however, 
arose much confusion, and it was not until a comparatively late period that Wyan- 
dotte has been enabled to do the best educational work. 

Among the county superintendents of this later period are: H. C. Whitlock, two 
terms; T>. B. Hiatt, one term; C. J. Smith, one term; F. M. Slosson, one term; and 
E. F. Taylor, two terms. Superintendent Smith was the first to provide the office, 
in 1883, with permanent record books. Since 1883 the office records have been care- 
fully kept, and in good form. Superintendent Whitlock did much to inspire in 
teachers a desire to consult together in teachers' meetings, and during his adminis- 
tration some very enthusiastic meetings were held. The teaching in this direction 
has borne fruit, and in no county in the State is a larger proportion of the teachers 
regularly enrolled as attendants at the teachers' "meetings. 

Supt. E. F. Taylor made the first successful attempt to grade and classify the 
district schools. He succeeded first in securing a county uniformity of text-books, 
including both Argentine and Kansas City. The changes were made without any 
expense to the pupils or county, and old and out-of-date text-books were replaced 
with bright, new books fully up to the times, and at prices 20 per cent, cheaper than 
before. 

Then, with the cooperation of the leading teachers of the county, a course of 
study was arranged and published, which met the approval of nearly every teacher 
in the county. The course provides for seven years' work of nine months each, and 
arrangements are made for examinations and promotions as rapidly as pupils can 
advance, and, at the end of the course, those who finish join in annual commence- 
ment exercises, and are presented with the common-school diploma. 

Believing that, primarily, "good teachers make good schools," Superintendent 



*By Edw. F. Taylor, county superintendent. 



230 History of Education in Kansas. 

Taylor has endeavored constantly to improve the teaching force. That this has 
been done, is attested by the increased length of school terms, and by the higher sal- 
aries paid from year to year, until in these points Wyandotte county is second to 
none in the State. The demand for better teachers has led to more thorough exam- 
inations and to more extended courses of study and reading for teachers, and the 
number of inexperienced and third-grade teachers employed has grown less every 
year. 

County normal institutes are always well attended, the enrollment running from 
150 to 300 per cent, of the number of teachers employed. Courses of study, plans 
of teaching, educational theories and academic instruction are each given due prom- 
inence. 

Among the conductors and instructors who have done much for the teachers and 
schools of this county are: Prof. P. J. Williams, Hon. Porter Sherman, Prof. John 
T. Buchanan, Dr. John Wherrell, George E. Rose, Supt. C. R. Sortor, Miss Bridgie 
Cushing, M. E. Pearson, E. F. Taylor, and C. H. Newlin. 

A teachers' reading circle, auxiliary to the Kansas teachers' reading circle, was 
organized in March, 1891, and ever since it has had more members than there are 
teachers employed. 

Wyandotte city grew rapidly into a metropolitan city. The Hon. Porter Sher- 
man, for 10 years superintendent of the Wyandotte city schools, was one of the best 
known and foremost educators of the West. Mr. O. C. Palmer established the Wyan- 
dotte Academy, about 1880, and for six years did very much for a large number of 
young men and women who were desirous of securing more than a common-school 
education. Mr. Palmer was one of the most thorough and successful teachers who 
has ever been connected with our schools. 

After the consolidation of the cities at the mouth of the Kaw, and the election of 
Mr. Jno. W. Ferguson as superintendent of the schools of Kansas City, Kas., the 
high-school course was rearranged, and Mr. John Wherrell was chosen as principal. 
These two gentlemen went to work energetically to build up the schools of the con- 
solidated city. There were three courses of study to harmonize, three sets of books 
in use, and three separate high schools to be drawn together into one; yet, in three 
years, the schools grew from 45 to 100 teachers, and the high school from an enroll- 
ment of 80 to 275 pupils, while the work in some branches, especially in the teach- 
ing of numbers and penmanship, became the pride of the State. A great deal of care 
was exercised by the board of education in the selection of teachers, and especially 
principals. 

Among the principals who have been known and characterized as leaders in 
their profession are: J. C. Mason (died in 1892), Geo. E. Rose, J. G. Fertig, C. H. Now- 
lin, M. E. Pearson, W. H. Rooney, Geo. L. Harrison, W. H. McKean, and Walter Pear- 
son. The present superintendent is Mr. A. S. Olin, and the principal of the high 
school is Mr. E. A. Mead. Both of these gentlemen were elected by the board in 
May, 1890. 

The board of education for 1892-'93 is composed of six members, one from each 
ward of the city. The Hon. Thos. W. Heatley is president. Mr. Heatley has been 
very energetic in behalf of the schools. A public library has been established under 
the care and supervision of the board of education. 

There has been a constant desire to advance salaries, and to insure permanency 
of position to worthy teachers. 

Argentine has rapidly grown to be a city of the second class. Mr. J. J. Maxwell 
and Mr. B. L. Short were two of the earlier principals of the schools who did much 
toward making them a success. Supt. H. A. Hollister was elected by the board in 
1890, and served two years. He worked very hard for the establisfcmmt of a good 



Wyandotte County. 231 

high-school and a common-school course of study. He was succeeded in June, 1892, 
by Supt. C. R. Sortor. Superintendent Sortor was principal of the schools while 
Argentine was a city of the third class, and comes back to the head of the schools 
with increased experience and confidence of the people. 

If there are parts of Wyandotte county more than others that have always 
pointed to the public school with just pride, those places are Rosedale and Edwards- 
ville. It has been their constant emulation to have just as much school as the law 
would allow, and to employ the very best teachers and principals to be had. The 
number of young men and women from these schools who have risen to responsible 
positions bears abundant testimony to the value of this plan. 



